Bicyclists may feel a false sense of security when riding in Staten Island, New York City’s smallest borough. If it is less congested than downtown Manhattan, however, Staten Island is still an urban environment with plenty of inattentive, distracted, and negligent motorists who don’t look for bicyclists. Worse, these motorists seemingly don’t see bicyclists even when they’re right in front of them—certainly not in time to avoid far too many preventable collisions.
As with the city in general, in fact, bike accidents in Staten Island have risen, more or less steadily, during the last 10 years. Despite the COVID shutdowns, several months in 2020 set or tied five-year records for the most bicycle accidents in Staten Island—March, April, June, and August. Several other months came uncomfortably close to beating those five-year accident records.
The borough has worked hard to make biking safer, constructing the New Springville Greenway and both dedicated and on-street bike lanes. But those measures cannot protect against cars and trucks whose drivers won’t pay attention or drive safely—or even call for a cab or Uber when they’re too drunk to drive. This leaves cyclists vulnerable to serious injuries from crashes with cars and trucks.
If a Staten Island bicycle accident injured you or someone you know, follow the steps outlined below. If you’re in a Staten Island bicycle club or advocacy group, or an educator who wants to teach students about their rights as bikers, please feel free to copy and distribute this to anyone you think it would help. (If you post it online, please link back to this page.)
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