According to a 50 page study conducted by the New York City Department of Transportation and released by the Bloomberg administration, the streets of NYC are safer for pedestrians than one might think. Despite findings that the elderly and motorcyclists are most likely to be involved in an accident that is fatal or causes serious injury, NYC overall has taken some enormously positive steps toward streets that are much safer than they have been since the city began gathering traffic data in 1910.
This study examined over 7,000 traffic accidents throughout the five boroughs between the years 2002-2006. The accidents in the study only included those which caused death or serious injury to a pedestrian. Here are some main points to take from the study:
Even though this study focused on New York City, we can learn from it here in Denver as well. Motorcyclists, drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists are involved in serious crashes everyday throughout Denver, but we can educate ourselves and minimize these crashes just as New Yorkers have done. Here are some suggestions we as Denver citizens can easily adopt to reduce traffic accidents: