Once Again, The Lack of Courtesy on Staten Island Leads to Tragic Results
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.
