NEW YORK. Are trucks driving through your neighborhood in New York? If so, the truck driver may be breaking the law. According to the New York City Department of Transportation, trucks are restricted to using specific routes through the city. Commercial trucks are limited to driving on Local Truck Routes and Through Truck Routes. Of course, there are times where delivery trucks or garbage trucks will need to operate on neighborhood streets, but when they must drive on these streets, drivers are required to take the shortest route possible from a Local Truck Route or Through Truck Route. Trucks are only permitted to use Local Truck Routes when making deliveries or when they have business in a neighborhood, otherwise, drivers are required to use the Through Truck Route.
So, if you see a truck in your neighborhood—is it breaking the law? If it is a delivery truck or garbage truck and it is serving your neighborhood, it is probably legally driving on your street. However, if you see a commercial truck on your street, it could possibly be breaking the law. Truck drivers are required to have documentation on hand to show police or other officials their destination in the city.
However, most residents don’t really go about reporting truck activity in their neighborhoods. When could it be important to determine whether a truck driver broke New York’s local traffic laws? According to Streetsblog, we’ve seen a number of pedestrian deaths in the city involving semi trucks and commercial trucks. If you or a loved one was injured, hurt, or killed in a collision with a commercial truck in New York City, it may be a good idea to speak to a qualified personal injury lawyer like Antin, Ehrlich, & Epstein, L.L.P. who can review the truck driver’s documentation to determine whether the driver was legally driving in your neighborhood.
Trucks can be particularly dangerous to pedestrians and bikers because they require more space to come to a complete stop and must make wider turns. There are simply more ways a truck driver can make a mistake while driving in the city. Unfortunately, the people who suffer the most are those in passenger vehicles, those riding on bikes, or pedestrians.
Under the law, any truck longer than 55 feet needs a permit to drive on New York streets. If the recent pedestrian fatalities are any indication, it appears that some truck operators and companies are not taking the time to get proper permits. It is unclear whether recent fatal accidents involved trucks that didn’t have proper permits.
If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a truck accident in New York city, you and your family may have important rights under the law. Visit the New York personal injury lawyers at Antin, Ehlrlich, & Epstein, L.L.P. today to learn more about your rights and options. As more victims speak up and fight back, New York city officials might also take more action to enforce truck permitting laws in the city.
Antin, Ehrlich & Epstein, LLP
Attorneys at Law
49 West 37th Street, Floor 7
New York, NY 10018
Phone:917-730-7151