The roads of New York City have never been as crowded as they are right now. The rapidly growing number of cyclists in Manhattan and Brooklyn has greatly contributed to this congestion, and in order to make the roads safer the New York Police Department launched a new program earlier this month that will help track and better understand accidents between cyclists and pedestrians. The NYPD’s new bike tracking system will track the continually growing number of accidents between bikers and pedestrians by requiring city residents to report bicycle accidents to the NYPD and fill out the same form that they use for other motor vehicle accidents.
According to the New York Daily News, roughly 500 New York pedestrians are hospitalized every year as the result of accidents with cyclists. Instituting a system that produces consistent information about personal injuries caused by these accidents makes a lot of sense, especially because if either the cyclist or the pedestrian decides to hire a New York City personal injury attorney and file a personal injury lawsuit, they will have more accurate documentation about the accident. Pedestrians in New York City are already at risk of being struck by cars and other motor vehicles when they walk through the city, so having the same recourse for bicycle accidents will open up the possibility of winning large settlements for those accidents too.
Ben Petok, a spokesman for Councilman Stevin Levin, a Democrat who represents a Brooklyn district, praised the tracking system and said that he hopes that it will help police to understand and better address the problem. He said that, “As the roads have been more congested, there is an increased need to know when and where accidents are happening, why, and what we can do to fix them.” For pedestrians in New York City who have been injured in a bicycle or motor vehicle accident, contact our offices today to see if you have a personal injury case.