NYC Traffic Deaths Break Record So Far In 2024, Study Finds

NEW YORK CITY — One New Yorker died in a traffic crash every 36 hours as this year so far broke a record for fatalities, according to a new study.

New York City saw the deadliest first three months for traffic deaths since the Vision Zero program began, with 60 deaths, the analysis released Thursday by Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets found.

"It is unconscionable that this is the deadliest first quarter under Vision Zero, a whole decade after the program first launched," said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, in a statement.

"New Yorkers don't need any more platitudes, they need and deserve real action from their leaders."

Vision Zero began in 2014 with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths through a combination of street safety programs and infrastructure improvements.

Deaths had indeed dropped as Vision Zero took root, until they sharply increased as New York City recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, data shows.

The 60 deaths as this year dawned were a 50 percent increase from the same span in 2018, the safest first quarter under Vision Zero, according to the new study.

Queens, in particular, had a grim start ot the year.

The borough became the first in New York City to surpass 750 traffic deaths since Vision Zero began, the study found.

Read the analysis here.