Serious injuries from traffic crashes are often absent from the news and policymaking, despite life-altering consequences. Every year, these crashes leave thousands of New Yorkers with permanent disabilities, often requiring months of recovery and leading to financial hardship.

Nearly one in three New Yorkers have been injured in traffic violence. For every person killed in a traffic crash in New York City, another 11 are severely injured.

Transportation Alternatives’ database tracks every traffic crash resulting in serious injury in New York City in an effort to broaden the conversation about Vision Zero and the preventable harm caused by giving so much space in our city to cars. This is the first time serious injury data has been analyzed and visualized for public consumption.

To reduce traffic injuries in your neighborhood, pay attention to the design and use of public spaces. The NYC Streets Plan legally requires the City of New York to redesign thousands of intersections for safety, build hundreds of thousands of square feet of new pedestrian space, create hundreds of miles of protected bus and bike lanes, and more. Here are a few ways that our leaders can prevent serious injuries by implementing the NYC Streets Plan and our NYC 25x25 vision:

• Build protected bike lanes and bus lanes in districts with high rates of traffic injuries. The NYC Streets Plan is a legal requirement and critical for designing and building safer, slower streets – yet the current administration failed to meet mandated goals in 2022. In New York City, converting car storage and driving lanes to car-free protected bike lanes caused bicycling ridership to skyrocket while reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured by 18.1%, pedestrians by 35.5% and motorists by 13.1%, according to 14 years of data.
• Prioritize pedestrian infrastructure in all five boroughs. Infrastructure like additional pedestrian signals, accessible pedestrian signals, upgraded ramps, and pedestrian-only space are also required by the Streets Plan. Converting a car driving lane into pedestrian and bus infrastructure on First and Second avenues in Manhattan caused traffic injuries to drop 21% even though cycling rates rose up to 177% on some segments, bus ridership was up 9%, and traffic speed and volume remained constant.
• Invest in self-enforcing streets across the city. Automated enforcement works: operating speed safety cameras 24/7 has reduced traffic injuries by up to 45% along some corridors, and constructing traffic-calming infrastructure — pedestrian islands, curb extensions, and bike lanes — reduces the number of people killed or severely injured in crashes, including drivers.