Eyes on the Street: Another Curb-Jumping Motorist on the UWS

Another day, another motorist barreling onto a New York City sidewalk. Reader Liz Patek sends this shot of the crash aftermath at Columbus and 72nd Street yesterday evening, where a van driver, apparently heading east, jumped the curb and crashed into a light pole. The tally on CrashStat reveals that 20 pedestrians and eight cyclists were injured in traffic crashes at this intersection between 1995 and 2005.

According to one account from the scene, a pedestrian was injured in this crash, but the extent of the harm incurred is uncertain. NYPD’s press office had no information about the incident.

Speaking of which, are you anxious to get more up-to-date information on traffic safety in your neighborhood from city government? The Saving Lives Through Better Information bill requires NYPD to post information on traffic crashes and injuries in each precinct, searchable by intersection, every month. It was signed into law on February 22, setting off a 120-day clock before the reporting requirements go into effect. So we’ve got a little bit more than a month before we should start to see these stats regularly updated online.