"Stop! Let them cross!" - an NYC Traffic Collisions Analysis

BACKGROUNDER

Post- pandemic, NYC is trying to boost its economy. Organizations have recently initiated their Return to Office (RTO) programs, resulting in a larger volume of people moving back and occupying the streets including motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.

City officials have requested analysis and recommendations regarding the following:

1. Have the current Vision Zero Public Safety Programs, led by the NYPD bureaus & units, and NYC Department of Transportation been effective, in particular after the 2021 record high of traffic fatalities?
2. Can current funding be reduced and / or optimized?
3. How can the current Vision Control's Public Safety Prevention Programs be more effective?

KEY OBSERVATIONS

1. With over 30% of missing basic information, current data set enables only a directional 100 level analysis. To provide a finer level of recommendations (Level 200 and 300), a Streamline Data Collection process, including access to additional information, is needed.
2. Vision Zero Safety Programs have been effective in reducing the number of traffic accidents, however did little to prevent injuries or fatalities.
3. Targeted safety measures based on spatial information, temporal information, and specific contributing factors are now needed.
4. Total cost of traffic crash deaths contributes to over $1.4B, or roughly 25% of the Accident Economic Impact cost, resulting in a negative impact to the local economy.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1: DO NOT CUT THE BUDGET Due to the increasing number of traffic crash injuries (+2.4%) and fatalities rising to new levels (~+32% since the start of the pandemic), the analysis supports the recommendation for the city to not cut budget / funding for NYC Public Safety Programs. Failing to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries will continue to increase the local Economic Impact which, a vast majority, is impacting the city (i.e., property damages, claims etc.).

RECOMMENDATION 2: RE-TARGET THE BUDGET TO TARGETED PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAMS Current Public Safety Programs shows their limitations, and the budget should be optimized to support new targeted Public Safety Programs with key focus on:

• Pedestrians and Cyclists - Respectively 9% and 5% of all traffic accidents impacts pedestrians and / or cyclists.
• Small vehicles (i.e., motorbikes, bicycles, scooters etc.) - 91% of accidents involving small vehicles results in injuries and/or fatalities.
• Extra Large vehicles - while more data is needed for comprehensive analysis, many of those vehicles include city fleet vehicles, costing NYC hundreds of millions of dollars per year due to property damages and claims.
• Focus on Brooklyn, which is by far, the most dangerous borough for riders and pedestrians. With 40% and 44% of all cyclists' injuries or fatalities, and 35% & 37% of pedestrians' injuries and fatalities, new Public Safety Programs should target key intersections in Brooklyn with the highest number of pedestrians and cyclists' injuries / fatalities.
• Additional NYPD enforcement to be deployed during the 1/ summer months, 2/ specific dates of the year, as well as 3/ rush hours during the weekdays and late hours of the night on weekends.
• Seasonal Public Safety Programs - New Public Safety Programs should be designed for Pedestrians during winter months and Cyclists during summer months.

RECOMMENDATION 3: NEW DATA COLLECTION PROCESS To enable analysis accuracy and deepening of recommendations, an overhaul of Data Collection process is needed. The new streamlined and optimized Data Collection Process should focus on

• Accuracy of the data captured (i.e., validation),
• Enforcement for certain data to be captured (i.e., Borough, Contributor to collision),
• Augmentation of the data to capture to enable finer analysis and recommendations.
• Real Time sharing of the data across key partnerships (i.e., insurance companies, Logistics & Transporters, Ride Share, Tech companies etc.)