Staten Island Injury Law : New York Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Frank Dito : Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola Law Firm : Traffic Accidents, Transportation Safety

After the tragic deaths of an elderly couple on New Dorp Lane by a hit-and-run driver, you would think that Island residents would take notice and just slow down. Clearly that's not the case as one of my family member's was involved in another New Dorp Lane car accident. Last Wednesday, as my niece was stopped at a red light on New Dorp Lane at New Dorp Plaza, her car was rear-ended. The impact was severe, pushing my niece's car into the car in front of her. Accidents happen and you are usually happy that no one was hurt, but it is the reckless and callous disregard for the law that is so appalling. As my niece tried to get to her cell phone to call 911, the driver of the car came over to her and begged my niece to not call the police! Each time my niece tried to dial, the other driver would grab the phone, refusing to allow her to call 911. The other driver offered my niece $2,000 not to call the police - her urgency was because she claimed that her license was suspended. Thankfully, a good Samaritan intervened and told the driver that the police were already called. Once the driver heard that the police were on the way, she took off, leaving the accident scene. My niece was taken away by ambulance to the emergency room. She is still in pain almost a week after the accident.

From the damage to my niece's car, it is clear that the other driver never hit the brakes or even noticed the red light. This type of distracted driving is all too common on the Island as cell phones now seem to take priority over driving. How often when driving do you notice another car take a turn a little too wide? - the reason all too often is that the person was holding a cell phone in one hand while trying to turn the wheel with the other. How often do you see the impatient driver that has to go around a stopped school bus? Ticketing these driver's does not seem to stop them. And what about driving with a suspended license? Driving without a license is a crime punishable by imprisonment. Obviously, that's not enough of a deterrent to prevent these people from driving a car.

When is enough enough? How many accidents have to happen from driving while distracted or without a license? How many people have to die before Island driver's act responsibly? If your license is suspended, don't drive! If you don't have a hands-free device for your cell phone, don't talk while driving. And don't even think about trying to text message while you are behind the wheel. The careless and reckless driver is a problem for all Staten Island residents. As I found out, its only a matter of time before you are directly affected by one. Lets do something before it's too late - drive responsibly - use a headset, stop for the school bus and don't drive distracted.

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All too often do you hear about a driver getting ticketed for going around a stopped school bus. I am not sure of their reason. I can't believe that driver's don't see the school bus - after all, its big, yellow, has flashing red lights and even its own stop sign. So if seeing the school bus isn't the problem, it has to be that drivers just don't care about the potential consequences and choose to ignorethe law. This callous and reckless disregard of traffic laws permeates the Staten Island driving culture, from passing a school bus, driving through a red light or not stopping at a stop sign.

I was driving the other day and was stopped at a red light at the end of Richmond Road and Morley Avenue, waiting to complete my right turn. While I was driving, I had previously noticed a car behind me trying to pass other cars. When I was stopped, I noticed the car pull out from behind me and continue straight, as if to make a left hand turn onto Richmond Road. The light was green in that direction but instead of making a left turn, the car proceeded to make a right turn. Obviously, the traffic laws don't pertain to that driver. I am sure that the driver simply couldn't be bothered to wait for the light to turn red and made up their own rules.

As a parent, I take my child to the bus stop every morning. I always notice that approaching drivers seem tentative about stopping for the bus. The rules are very simple. You must stop when approaching a stopped school bus with its red light son and its stop sign deployed. Its not a judgment call - you must stop. If you don't, the consequences can be severe. Severe in that a child could be killed.

Last week, a driver apparently felt that she didn't have to stop for a school bus and proceeded to drive around the cars that were lawfully stopped. That driver clipped a 12-year old girl getting off the bus, thankfully she sustained only minor injuries - cuts and bruises on her legs. The driver fled but was followed a by a good Samaritan, who called police. The driver didn't have a good excuse for what she had done - she was just going to meet her boyfriend. What if the girl had been killed? What if that was your child getting off the bus? Stopping for a school bus is the law. We need to obey it. If we don't, we are going to need harsher penalties to stop people from passing the school bus. This attitude that the law does not apply to "me" must change before more people are hurt.

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Once again, after a snowstorm, some Staten Island residents feel that its time to drive their ATV's on City streets. In New York City, it is illegal to drive an ATV on public streets or sidewalks. Although some streets are impassable after a snow storm, it doesn't mean that the law doesn't apply any longer. Throughout the island, you can hear the sound of ATV's zipping around the streets during a storm. Some people think its fun and that it really can't harm anyone. Others don't seem to care and feel that they are entitled to ride. What they fail to realize is what happens if someone gets hurt.

In New York State, if you are hurt in a car accident, your car insurance will normally pay your medical bills. Unfortunately, an ATV is not considered a "car" under your insurance policy and you won't be eligible for your medical bills to be paid by your car insurance. Most people are totally unaware of how their car insurance protects them in case of accident until its too late. I wrote a book, The Lawyers Guide To Purchasing Car Insurance to help consumers better understand how their policy protects them. Besides the fact that riding an ATV on a City street is illegal, it can leave you open to serious financial consequences.

If you are involved in ATV accident, your car or homeowners insurance won't cover you in case of an accident. If you are riding an ATV and hit a car or even someone crossing a street, you won't have any insurance that will cover you. What that means is that your insurance company will disclaim coverage and you will be responsible for defending a lawsuit and for any money damages that the injured person may recover.  They can even come after your house. The bottom line is that an ATV is for off-road use only - don't jeopardize your financial safety for a quick ride. Its illegal and can have serious consequences.

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Like many other Staten Island residents, I just came in from digging out after last night's heavy snowfall. After a few hours of shoveling, you are no doubt tired and maybe feel that you should have started earlier. Last night, while watching the Dallas-New Orleans football game, I heard the sounds of shovels and snow-blowers working in the height of the storm. Many people question when they need to actually have the snow cleaned off the sidewalk before you are liable if someone falls on snow and ice. The simple answer is - "after the snow stops." Initially, although the City of New York is responsible for the condition of the sidewalk, you are responsible to remove the accumulated snow. The good news is that the law protects you while it is still snowing and gives you a reasonable time to clean the sidewalk after the snow stops falling.

The City of New York requires that a homeowner clean the sidewalk within 4 hours after it stops snowing or risk being fined. The City will give you a "break" if the snow stops in the middle of the night - between the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. - you won't have to shovel snow until the next morning. But, if you shovel, make sure that you do the job right. Sometimes, the best way to protect yourself from liability is to do nothing at all - no shoveling, sanding or salting. Of course, you may continue to receive fines from the City but you may not be liable if someone slips on the snow in front of your house.

So if you are walking outside soon after a winter storm, don't expect the sidewalks to be free and clear of snow and ice. If you encounter a sidewalk covered in ice and snow a few days after a snowstorm, walk around it. Because if you fall, you may have no one to blame but yourself. And if you own a home, avoid the risk of fines and a possible lawsuit by shoveling soon after the snow ends. Use some sand or rock salt - give your neighbors a break and a safe sidewalk for them to walk on. Lets hope that they do the same for you.

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It comes as no surprise to the thousands of Staten Island resident who travel across the Verrazano Bridge everyday that the crossing holds the inglorious title of having the most accidents of all Metropolitan Transit Authority crossings. The Verrazano saw an alarming increase of 57 accidents in 2009 than in 2008, an accident rate so high that it has been labeled a "hot spot" by MTA officials.

As a Staten Island car accident attorney, I have many clients who were involved in car accidents on the bridge and they most always happen at the same spot. Anyone who has driven over the bridge knows that the the Brooklyn-bound upper level has more than its fair share of accidents. The problem is in the design of the bridge. In order to allow ships to pass underneath, the center of the span rises 233 feet above the water. The roadway deck arches so that when you first enter the Brooklyn bound lanes, you need to keep your foot on the gas pedal to keep up your speed. As you reach the center of the span, your foot remains on the gas pedal and your speed increases as you start heading downward. At that same point, you usually encounter traffic in the left lane, waiting to enter the Belt Parkway. The middle lane slows down because some driver's wishing to exit onto the belt parkway fail to realize that they need to get over so quickly. The combination of downhill momentum and cars quickly slowing down, causes the frequent rear-end chain reaction collisions.

Now that the bridge has been marked as a "hot spot", how do you prevent the accidents? Driver's need to be aware of the danger zones on the bridge and understand that the 45 m.p.h. speed limit is posted for your safety. Police need to better enforce the speed limit and officials need to make an effort to advise drivers that you are now able to access the Belt Parkway from the lower level in an attempt to reduce the volume of traffic waiting to get on the Belt Parkway from the upper level. We, as driver's and residents, need to slow down. In a previous posting I wrote about how Staten Island's streets are more akin to highways. Many residents seem to feel that the laws and limits don't apply to them. Its this type of behavior that helped to win the Verrazano another notorious title.

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In a previous post, I wrote about our Staten Island streets being more akin to highways and the general attitude of entitlement that prevails amongst Staten Island drivers. A recent article from the Staten Island Advance visits those same issues in light of the tragic hit-and-run deaths of an elderly couple in New Dorp on Thanksgiving Eve. What was appalling was that the driver who killed the husband and wife has had his license suspended 29 times and was still driving! The driver was only 26-years old - even if he had received his license when he was 18 years old, he would average more than 3 suspensions a year. 

Driving with a suspended license is a crime and punishable as such. Even if your suspension results from failing to pay a traffic ticket, you have still violated Section 511 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and are subject to arrest if you are stopped while driving. Obviously, the chance of being arrested was not enough to deter this individual from driving. The system is so weak that it actually encourages people to continue to drive with a suspended license. You also have to question if the police had stopped that driver before and, if they did, what was his punishment or why was he let go?  He had numerous prior convictions for such crimes as talking on a cell phone, ignoring traffic signs and driving without a license. He killed these people on their way to church! Transportation officials had just wrapped up a meeting with local residents that discussed the dangerous traffic conditions on New Dorp Lane. The meeting was too little, too late.

How often when you are driving do you notice other drivers making a right turn on red, when there is no sign allowing them to do so? Or driver's performing the "rolling stop" at a 4-way stop sign or rushing past a school bus to "beat" the stop sign from unfolding? On an Island of approximately 450,000 people, these sights are too common and all too often lead to the tragedy that occurred on Thanksgiving Eve. Despite what some residents say, these "quality of life" crimes must be more rigidly enforced by the police to prevent these tragedies.

I say if you are caught driving with a suspended license, the police should take your car away, just like a drunk driver. Such drivers obviously don't fear the criminal penalties enough to deter them from getting behind the wheel so you have to take the wheel away from them. Despite the frequent addition of red lights and speed bumps, even new stop signs with blinking lights, the attitudes of Staten Island drivers have to change. Transportation officials can install a light or speed bump at every corner or intersection,  but it is up to residents to obey the rules. I sometimes feel that we have just lost basic common courtesy, helped along by reality TV programs that encourage, in fact glorify, such behavior. 

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