File photo of the aftermath of a crash on Columbus Avenue and 72nd street. Columbus had the most collisions of any avenue in the 20th precinct in 2014.
By Krista Carter
Sgt. Felicia Montgomery of the 20th precinct presented 2014 and early 2015 crash statistics at a Community Board 7 meeting on Tuesday night, highlighting the intersections with the most crashes and injuries (the 20th covers the UWS from 86th street South).
The good news is that overall crashes and crashes with injuries were down. There’s still a debate in the neighborhood over whether police have increased enforcement of bad driving enough, but summonses have been rising. It’s also clear from the crash data that the Lincoln Square “bowtie” area in the mid-60’s is particularly treacherous for pedestrians (we will have an update about planned changes to that area shortly).
Sgt. Montgomery also talked about general trends in the area.
2014 Overview:
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decrease in overall collisions
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decrease in injury collisions
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decrease in bicycle collisions
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decrease in occupant collisions
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decrease in total injuries
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decrease in motorcycle collisions
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decrease in taxi and truck collisions
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increase in highway collisions
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increase in texting, using cell phones while driving, running red lights, failing to yield to pedestrians
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increase in DWI and 511 (suspension on license/ no license)
2015 Stats (28 day period from 1/12-2/8):
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132 total collisions, down 1 collision for period
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4 pedestrian, down 20%
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79th St and Riverside, 63rd St and WEA, 71st St and B’way, 65th St and Amsterdam. All female victims ages 40-79. 3 collisions occurred in crosswalk and 1 mid-walk. These are vehicle-pedestrian accidents.
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2014 Collision Report Breakdown:
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59th-70th Street: 57 collisions
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70th-76th Street: 28 collisions
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76th-82nd Street: 22 collisions
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82th-86th Street: 19 collisions
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Columbus Avenue had the most collisions (31 total)
*Out of 162 accidents, 65 involved taxis
2014 Most Dangerous Intersections:
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Vehicle collisions:
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81st St & CPW: 43 (*intersection is unique in that if there is a collision at 79th St, it doesn’t go into computer as 79, but 81 instead)
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79th St & Riverside Drive: 36
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60th St & Broadway: 34
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Committee wants to know direction vehicle was traveling, but officer responds that one would need to go through individual reports to get this information. The stat report presented focuses on where and when collisions occurred.
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Pedestrian collisions:
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65th St & Broadway: 4
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66th St & Columbus: 3
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72nd St & WEA – 3 (occurred because of weather in June and July before pavement markings were added)
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Bicycle collisions:
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86th St & Columbus: 3 (all ran into parked vehicles)
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72nd St & CPW: 3
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85th St & Amsterdam: 2
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Most summonses issued for:
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Side swipes (55)
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Improper turns
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Unsafe lane change
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Driver inattention
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Failing to yield (13)
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DWI (2)
Thank you for covering this. I wonder how their search is going for the hit-and-run truck driver who left Wendy Ruther hospitalized. He should be brought to justice – I’m surprised that we haven’t seen surveillance camera images as we typically do for other suspects.
Why didn’t you include the Kill Zone up between 95-97 at WEA? Is that out of precinct? Even if so, should have been included.
Jen, you are correct. You’ll have to attend the 2-4’s Precinct House to get that data. The 2-0 covers 59 to 56 street River to CPW.
What happened to the person in that photo? Are they okay?
On Monday night, Feb. 9 around 8 p.m. a taxi came very, very close to hitting me (its front left side brushed the pants covering my left leg) when it made a very sharp left turn as I was crossing from the northwest corner (near Nice Matin) to the southwest corner of the Amsterdam/W. 79 St. intersection. I looked at the cab driver as the cab almost hit me, and he wasn’t aware of me! I was shell shocked for quite a while. I have seen cars make very sharp, fast right turns near the Bank of America at the W. 72 St/Broadway intersection. I never look at my cell phone when I cross streets. How many accidents/deaths will occur before something is seriously done about them? Cops should be posted regularly at major UWS intersections. Cameras should also be put there. I have lived in the W. 70s since the 1970s, and until last year I wasn’t too fearful of crossing UWS streets here. Now I am very fearful. If injuries and deaths are definitely the fault of drivers, they should be heavily fined, have their licenses suspended for a long time or forever, and maybe also put in a prison for a while.