What New York Has Done for the Purpose of Accident Prevention
Car accident prevention has become a priority for New York and other states for a number of years. The reason is that motor vehicle crashes are the major underlying cause of injury in the nation.
According the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), actions taken at the state level are effective in reducing the occurrence of car accidents. Statistics support this fact.
Car Accident Prevention Measures
The CDC recommends five fundamental actions for states to take for car accident prevention. New York has all these measures in place.
- Seat Belt Laws and Enforcement. New York has a primary enforcement law for seat belts. Failure to wear a seat belt is ample reason for law enforcement officers to pull a car over and issue a ticket. All front seat passengers must wear seat belts. Children under the age of 16 must wear seat belts whether riding in the front or back seats. Younger children are also subject to safety and booster seat laws and parents can receive fines for failing to ensure their safety.
- Child Safety and Booster Seats. Children under the age of four must ride in safety seats. Children between the ages of four and eight, weighing 40 to 80 pounds and who are less than four feet nine inches tall must ride in booster seats.
- Sobriety Checkpoints. As long as they adhere to New York law restrictions, law enforcement officials can set up DWI checkpoints.
- Ignition Interlocks. The New York legislature passed Leandra's Law in 2009, naming it after an 11-year old girl killed in a car crash with one of her friend's intoxicated mother. Consequently, anyone convicted of DWI since 2010 must have an interlock device installed on any vehicle they own or operate.
- Comprehensive Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). A GDL system helps teenagers build their driving skills safely and gradually. The NYS GDL has resulted in an 80% decrease in car crashes for drivers who are 16 and 17 years old. The phases include: junior permits (age 16 with pass on written tests and parental supervision while driving), junior license (curfew and passenger restrictions) and unrestricted driver's license (age 18 or 17 with driver education).
If you are a victim of a serious car crash, you should first seek medical attention. When you are able, it is important to contact a car accidents lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced attorney can help you protect your rights and recover compensation to offset the expense of damages.
