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

An 83-year old widow was struck by a car on Friday as she attempted to cross Forest Avenue on her way to the beauty parlor. Accidents do happen but the circumstances surrounding this one clearly show Staten Island driver's lack of common courtesy and their sense of entitlement to drive a car.

Margaret Walsh was attempting to cross Forest Avenue when a passing driver decided to stop her car and extend common courtesy by allowing Ms. Walsh to cross in front of her,  As all too often happens, while one driver is courteous, another driver is bound to be in a rush or too distracted to realize what is occurring. These drivers switch lanes and pass the stopped car on the left or right hand side, usually with tragic consequences. We have all seen an accident happen or almost happen when driver's in the opposite direction stop to let a car make a left turn in front of them. As always, there is always another driver that is too distracted or impatient to let the car make the turn. They cross over into the right hand lane and shoot past the stopped car. If the car making the left  has started already to turn, it may be too late to avoid the accident.

In what is becoming an all too common occurrence, the driver of the other car was driving with a suspended license. This news no longer bring about the shock that it once did as serious accidents involving drivers with suspended licenses has become all too common. Peter and Lillian Sabados and Roxanne Murano were struck and killed on Staten Island by drivers with suspended licenses. The papers are filled with scores of accidents involving drivers with suspended licenses that fortunately have not resulted in the loss of life.

Also, the license plates on the car that hit Mrs. Walsh were from South Carolina, which usually means that although the car is registered in South Carolina, it is probably used primarily on Staten Island. Cars insured in other states generally have lower insurance costs than New York. South Carolina requires that every car insured in the state have minimum policy limits of $25,000/$50,000. This is the same minimum as required in new York State. However, some states, such as Virgina, allow drivers to drive uninsured cars, simply by paying a $500 fee! Because more and more drivers are driving without insurance or without enough insurance, you need to check your own insurance policies. Please read my free book, A Lawyer's Guide to Car Insurance, and contact me for a FREE insurance policy review. Do so now before its too late.

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After yesterday's deadly storm that tore through Staten Island, and Hurricanes Igor and Julia spinning out in the Atlantic, residents need to be prepared for these contingencies. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, with September using being the most active month for named storms. Although hurricanes normally don't pose a threat to the New York City area, severe storms like yesterday appear without warning. Preparedness for a hurricane would help in the event that a similar storm strikes the Island without notice.

Its a good idea to stock water and food in your home. On average, a person needs two quarts of water per day to stay properly hydrated. You will also need to keep additional water on hand for sanitary purposes. High-energy, non-perishable food needs to be kept on hand to feed you and your family. Some examples would be whole dry milk, canned meats and fish, dried fruits and cereals and meat substitutes like beans, bread and crackers.

Many residents don't have basic emergency supplies, such as a flashlight with extra batteries and a battery operated radio with a weather band. These radios are tuned to official weather emergency broadcasts and can alert you to rapidly approaching dangerous weather. Make a Family Disaster Plan - locate a safe room in your house, discuss what to do in a storm with your family and check your insurance coverage now. Make a Disaster Supply Kit now - after a storm is not the time to find out that you are missing something important. You should also make sure that any trees that are on your property are properly trimmed. Weak branches may fall in a storm and cause to damage to your property. The time to prepare is before a storm - its too late if you find yourself in need of emergency supplies in an emergency.

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As school bus service to nearly 3,000 7th and 8th graders remains cut, principals are scrambling to find ways to make dismissal safer. As anyone knows who drives on Staten Island streets during the hours of 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., getting around is difficult, especially near schools at their dismissal times. A trip that averages 15 minutes during the late morning may take as long as 45 minutes during the mid-afternoon. The streets in front of many Staten Island schools are filled with double- and triple-parked cars, have cars parked in someone else's driveway, blocked fire hydrants and a general failure to heed stop signs and red lights.

Bernstein Intermediate School recognized the danger that children were carelessly crossing Hylan Boulevard, a street rapidly becoming known as Staten Island's "Boulevard of Death", and took immediate steps to correct it. The school's principal met with students and even arranged for dismissal of the 7th and 8th graders in the school yard, making it easier for parents to pick up their children. This is just one school out of many in Staten Island and much more needs to be done to ensure our children's safety.

Last year, police put in place a plan that built upon "Operation Safe Roadways", which was put in place to stem the reckless driving along Hylan Boulevard and Richmond Avenue. The plan targeted driver behavior around schools during the morning drop-off and afternoon pickup. Again, driver attitude on Staten Island is a major problem in preventing . Parents need to pay attention to the rules and guidelines that schools implement for parking and student safety. Without our cooperation, the chaos will remain, putting all our children at risk.

Since it seems that everyone on Staten Island drives their child to and from school, I am at a loss to understand why Stop-and-Drop hasn't been adopted at every school. Stop-and-Drop designates one curb as a drop off zone, manned by a parent or teacher. A parent pulls up, with their child seated on the right hand side of the car, and their child is let out of the car, into the care of the parent or teacher. The parent then pulls away, letting the supervisors direct the children into the school, and allowing another parent to pull up. If followed, it greatly reduces the chaos and ensures that our children get to school safely. We also need our elected officials to look into changing the many "No Parking' and "No Standing" signs that surround our schools. I am sure at one time, these signs benefited all. But now, with the Island bursting at the seams, these spots should be opened up to allow parents to park and pick up their children safely.

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A salvage claim by a tug boat and its crew for coming to the aid of the Staten Island Ferry Boat Andrew J. Barberi when it crashed into a concrete maintenance pier, was sharply reduced, surprising the attorneys for the claimants and the City of New York. The tug boat, Dorothy J., and its two-member crew, Robert Seckers and Paul Flecker, were awarded $46,203.00, in stark contrast to the $6 million demanded in their lawsuit. The Dorothy J., under the control of First Mate Robert Seckers, claimed that their efforts to bring the Barberi under control after the crash entitled them to an award of salvage. Salvage is a theory wherein a person efforts are rewarded for coming to the aid of or rescuing a ship or its cargo from an impending peril.

The tug boat's owner and its crew claimed that their efforts in pushing the crippled ferry back into its dock, approximately 35 minutes worth of work, entitled the owner and its crew to a substantial award, based upon the value of the ferry boat itself.  Judge Edward Korman disagreed, saying that the crew's actions did not amount to pure marine salvage as the Barberi was never in any danger of sinking or colliding with another vessel. Also, the tug's owner, Henry Marine, already was under a contract with the City of New York to provide towing services, including helping stranded ferries.

Seckers still has a personal injury suit pending against the City of New York for post-traumatic stress disorder. His claims stem from the gruesome scene he witnessed after tying up the Dorothy J. to the side of the Barberi.

The law of salvage was created to help make the risk of saving a vessel in peril worthwhile to the potential salvor.The large salvage awards also are intended to encourage the return of the recovered cargo. While the advent of the Coast Guard and modern shipbuilding techniques may have changed salvage theory forever, one would hope that the real reasons for the law of salvage have not been forgotten; to encourage the saving of life and property in peril at great risk to the salvor. Without the potential rewards, will salvors be so quick to risk their own life and property?

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The Dignity for All Students Act was signed into law today by Governor David Patterson. The law protects students from harassment because of their race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex. Schools are required to create an environment free from harassment and discrimination by revising their codes of conduct and designating staff members to prevent such behavior.

In signing the bill, Patterson noted that far too often, school children are ruthlessly targeted by bullies. The bill's sponsor, State Senator Thomas Duane, noted the bills intention; No child should be terrified to go to school due to bullying and harassment. In the technology age, bullying has subjected children to a 24/7 onslaught of harassment, with no escape. The proliferation of facebook, Myspace and text messaging has created a virtual world in which for bullies to work and to hide anonymously behind their actions.

The law is to take effect on July 1, 2012 but certain provisions will take effect before that date. Numerous other states have enacted anti-bullying laws, including Georgia, where an 11-year old boy committed suicide after being repeatedly being bullied at school. As a parent, you need to be aware of signs that your child is being bullied in school. Some possible warning signs are if your child comes home with torn or damaged clothing, appears sad or depressed when he comes home from school, has frequent bad dreams or seems afraid to go to school. If your child has any of these signs, talk with your child and then talk with the teachers at your child's school. If your child is being bullied, take quick action as bullying can have serious effects on children.

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For the school aged children of Staten Island, summer vacation ended today. And with the Department of Education's recent decision to take away bus service for 7th and 8th graders, we can expect our streets to be more crowded with thousands of children forced to find new ways home. Besides the increase in pedestrian traffic, you can be rest assured that hundreds more cars will be on the streets. As driver's, we need to be aware of our surroundings and to expect these additional school children to be out on our roads at dismissal. In the mornings, the drop-offs will no doubt be congested with more people trying to drop off their children. Much confusion will result and despite the "rules" that come with dropping off our children, you can expect many parents to totally disregard the rules, putting our children in danger. As I have blogged about before, we as driver's and residents, need to change our habits and to obey the rules. They are there for our and our children's safety. Many Staten Island driver's feel that laws and rules don't always apply to them, especially when dropping off or picking up our children.

Despite all the improvements to traffic flow on Staten island, driver behavior is still the leading cause of accidents on Staten Island streets. For instance, the public's steadfast refusal to follow traffic directions and lane markings is incredible,  no more so demonstrated than in a typical fast food parking lot. Take for example the parking lot of the McDonald's at Hylan Boulevard and Midland Avenue. The designers placed clearly marked lanes and arrows in the parking lot, directing traffic smoothly to the drive-thru and in and out of the parking lots. Despite the markings, customers still refuse to follow directions, instead preferring to make a u-turn in the parking lot versus following the markings to the drive-thru. Another prime example is the drive-thru at the Dunkin Donuts on Forest Avenue and Broadway. The parking lot has two lanes, one clearly marked "24 Hour Drive-Thru" and being to the right of the entrance. The outside lane has two purposes; the first is to allow cars parked in the lot to be able to exit their parking spots without having to wait for the cars in the drive-thru line to move. Secondly, the right lane makes the turns required to be less severe and easier to pull up to order at the drive-thru. Not surprisingly, most drivers ignore the markings and enter the drive-thru through the left hand land, blocking any cars that attempt to pull out of their spots. Numerous other examples include the Wendy's on Hylan Boulevard by Cromwell Avenue and most banks.

Remember, laws are enacted for our safety. Don't pass a school bus with the red lights on and the stop sign out; A solid white-line on the street means that you are unable to switch lanes; the speed limit on streets if not posted is 30 m.p.h.; no left turn means no left turn. Until we obey these laws, many people will continue to be injured or killed based on driver behavior alone.

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It looks like the Verrazano Bridge isn't the only bridge that presents a danger to Staten Island commuters. Newly released data from the Port Authority shows that a whopping 2,400 accidents, or 55% of the Port Authority total, happened last year on the Goethals Bridge. Many of the accidents were rear end collisions and sideswipes, caused by the bridge's narrow lanes and the lack of a shoulder.

The lanes on the Goethals Bridge are only 10 foot wide, compared to 12 foot wide on newer bridges. In fact, AAA voted the Goethals Bridge as the 3rd worst bridge in New York because of the narrow lanes and the presence of deep grooves in the pavement from the heavy car and tuck traffic that the bridge experiences. With a replacement years, possibly a decade, away, the Port Authority is scrambling to find a temporary fix.

Recently, the lines on the bridge were repainted from dashed to solid, which prohibits lane-changing, in an effort to reduce sideswipe accidents. However, it seems that the change has not brought about any reduction in the amount of accidents that happen on the span. Besides the new solid lines and an eventual resurfacing of the roadway, the only real fix is the construction of a new span, with 3 wide lanes that will enable traffic to move safely across. Until the time that a new bridge can be built, drivers need to take care when driving across the bridge. Don't switch lanes unless its an emergency and take care to leave enough space between you and the car in front of you so that you can safely stop in an emergency. Be prepared when driving over the bridge because for the next 5 to10 years, we are the only ones that can protect ourselves from this dangerous bridge design.

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