New York City Bicycle Accidents Force Scrutiny Onto Investigation Procedures
New York City Bicycle Accidents
The cycling community and families of New York City bicycle accident victims are demanding accountability and thorough investigations from the NYPD, due to the inability of district attorneys to file criminal charges against those drivers who caused the accidents. There were 21 bicyclist deaths in NYC last year, and even though the majority of bicycle and pedestrian accidents are caused by illegal behavior on the part of the drivers, such as texting while driving or speeding, only 2 motorists were arrested out of those 21 cases.
The New York City district attorneys cited several reasons for not pressing criminal charges onto the motorists involved in the bicycle-related traffic accidents.
- In order to press a criminal charge for a traffic accident, the NYPD needs to convict the motorist of two driving charges together. Thus a single charge, such as speeding or passing a stop sign, is not enough by itself.
- Witness testimonies for these double charges are often inaccurate or unreliable, thus it is difficult for the police to reconstruct the crime scene.
- Many of New York City’s bicycle accidents occur at places where traffic cameras do not show enough footage for the police to make solid conclusions.
- There is not enough manpower to follow up on all of pedestrian and bicycle accident cases in New York. After layoffs, there are only 19 detectives on the NYC Accident Investigation Squad.
Helping the Victims of Bicycle Accidents in New York City
Cyclist advocates protested in November outside of New York City’s police headquarters to criticize the way police handle bicycle accident investigations. Cases have not being tracked thoroughly, thus NYPD Deputy Chief John Cassidy was unable to even account for the number of times drivers were convicted in fatal bicyclist accidents.
The city needs to implement changes to its way of handling bicycle accident investigations in order to serve its people and bring peace of mind to those who have suffered at the hands of negligent drivers. New York City’s personal injury lawyers, Peters Berger Koshel & Goldberg, P.C., fully support thorough and transparent investigations into a bicycle and other traffic accidents.
If you or a loved one were injured through someone else’s fault, we will help you preserve your rights and obtain the compensation you deserve. Learn more about how we may help you with our Accidents Page.