Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycle Safety

Traffic Remains Top Injury-Related Killer of New York City’s Children

12:50 PM EDT on July 6, 2010

Picture_2.pngTransportation-related injuries, overwhelmingly caused by motorists hitting pedestrians, remain a top killer of New York City children. Graphic: NYC Department of Health

New York's public transportation keeps children alive. New York City traffic kills them. Those are the fundamental facts that explain injury fatality rates among the city's children, according to the Department of Health.

Last week the health department released their fourth yearly report on children's injury deaths [PDF]. As in past years, motor vehicles are the leading cause of death due to injury among children. Between 2001 and 2008, 1,535 children died in New York City, 445 from injuries. Of those, 106 were killed by motor vehicles. The overwhelming majority of these victims were walking at the time they were fatally struck, while a few were in cars themselves or on bikes or scooters. The first report in this series focused more closely on traffic crashes and offered a more detailed look at how cars kill children.

In this year's report, the Department of Health focused on disparities
in fatalities, and the unequal burden of traffic couldn't be clearer.
For instance, 26.6 percent
of city residents are black, but black children account for 46 percent
of the transportation injuries that claim the lives of New Yorkers age 12 and under.

"The public health imperative for safer streets has never been clearer," responded Transportation Alternatives' Wiley Norvell. "Our city's children are falling victim to dangerous roadways and reckless driving."

The ray of light that emerges from the grim statistics is that because so many New Yorkers rely on public transportation to get around, children are much safer than they would otherwise be. New York City has only a third as many transportation-related child fatalities as the national average. Our safer transportation system is the prime reason that overall, New York City kids die from injuries at half the national rate. 

The report also offers a few recommendations for how to keep New York's children safe. With regards to transportation, they recommend stronger enforcement of traffic violations and allowing cameras to enforce speeding laws on dangerous speeds (a measure that has seemingly stalled in Albany this session), as well as installing convex mirrors on trucks and better installation of child car seats. Said Norvell, "It's time to marshal every lever in government to bring these numbers down."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday’s Headlines: A Congestion Alert Day

Like everyone else, we covered congestion pricing. Plus other news.

December 1, 2023

Adams Says He’ll Ban Parking Near 1,000 Intersections Every Year To Make Corners Safer

The city will daylight 1,000 intersections a year. A Brooklyn corner where a boy was killed in a crash is still waiting for the safety upgrades.

December 1, 2023

Komanoff: IMHO, TMRB is A-OK

Here’s what’s to like about the Traffic Mobility Review Board's central business district toll recommendations. It's a lot!

December 1, 2023

DOT’s New Emissions Rule is a Big Deal, Even if It Doesn’t Punish States for Polluting

No states will face penalties for building needless toxic road projects — but they also won't be able to hide those impacts from the public.

December 1, 2023

Cops Search for Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed 3-Year-Old in Queens

The merciless motorist killed 3-year-old Quintas Chen in downtown Flushing, Queens on Wednesday night.

November 30, 2023
See all posts