NYC vehicular accidents: Introduction

NYC, the most populated American city (8 million+ as of July 2014), is inundated with motor vehicles (e.g. taxis, passenger vehicles, vans, etc.) amidst pedestrians and cyclists, all sharing roadway access.  In large cities like NYC, unintentional motor vehicle accidents occur everyday.

According to 2013 CDC estimates, non-fatal injuries resulting from unintentional motor vehicle accidents were one of the top 10 leading causes of nonfatal injuries treated in U.S. hospitals (ages 5+).  Once the individual was of legal age to drive, injuries resulting from unintentional motor vehicle accidents became consistently ranked within the top 5 leading causes of nonfatal injuries in U.S. hospitals (see Table 1).

Table 1

Even more alarming, fatal injuries (death) resulting from unintentional motor vehicle accidents were consistently within the top 4 leading causes of injury death for all age groups in the U.S. (see Table 2).

Table 2

Although these CDC statistics are worrisome, vehicles and roadways are being made safer through technological innovations (e.g. self-stopping cars) and new navigational options such as traffic redirection.  However, little has been done to address the actual roadway in which one drives.  From past history, are some areas particularly prone to vehicle accidents?  When and how so?

In next blog post, I will address these questions.  I will be using historical motor vehicle collision data (since July 1, 2012) in NYC to deliver statistical insights as to where, when, and how motor vehicle accidents have occurred in the past. 

Specifically....

where: in what zip code did this vehicle accident happen? were pedestrians or cyclists involved?

when:  year, season, month, and hour of vehicle accident

how: the reason given for the accident (if one was given)

I hope this overarching idea can be:

1. incorporated in navigational systems in the future as an extra feature to promote increased vigilance for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists...
2. utilized by emergency patrol vehicles, such as police or EMTs, to be faster responders to vehicle accidents, resulting in better health outcomes

Until next time!