In just one month in New York City (February 2020), there were 13,586 motor vehicle collisions. In those crashes, 3,406 people were injured, and 17 people were killed. If those numbers hold true for all of 2020, then New York City may have as many as 163,032 reportable car accidents for the year.
Although we have made significant technological advances when it comes to the design of vehicles, that hasn’t necessarily increased our level of safety. In fact, it may have even decreased our safety, as the leading cause of accidents in the city in February 2020 was driver inattention. All of the gadgets that are designed to make us safer or our lives easier may actually serve to distract drivers from what they should be doing: focusing on the road.
Each of us can take responsibility to avoid accidents, such as by putting our phones away when we are behind the wheel. At Siler & Ingber, we have developed a new tool that may also help increase your safety: a Route Risk Calculator. Using this tool, you can determine just how safe your planned New York City route is — and then make better decisions about how to get to where we want to go.
As New York car accident lawyers, we see the results of collisions in the greater NYC area every day. We developed the Route Risk Calculator as a way for drivers to pick better (safer) routes. The tool was developed using publicly-available statistics from accidents and other traffic incidents in New York City.
Using this data, we created a grid of New York City. Each square within the grid is assigned a score based on factors such as the number of car crashes that have happened there in the past year. This score is on a scale from A to F, with A being the safest and F being the least safe.
Once a user has plugged in their starting and ending points, the calculator will analyze the safety score of each grid square along the route. It will then average the scores of every grid along the route and provide a grade from A to F. If there is more than one way to get from one place to another, then the tool will provide grades for each proposed route.
The Route Risk Calculator is designed to be easy to use. To get started, you just need to input your starting and ending locations. The calculator will give you one or more route options, with a score for each route.
With this score in mind, you can make a decision about how you should get to where you need to go. If there is more than one option, then you may choose the route with the better score. If you are just given one route, then you may need to be extra careful when driving if it has a low score.
For example, if you are traveling from Staten Island to the Bronx you have two options of how to go: through New Jersey on the New Jersey Turnpike, or across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and through the city. In this situation, both routes have a score of B. You can then make a decision about which way to go based on factors like toll amounts, traffic, or even personal preference.
In other situations, the scores for the route may be different. You may then take the route scores into consideration when figuring out how to get to your destination.
As an initial matter, it is important to recognize that this tool was built using historical traffic data. The algorithm that assigns a score to each grid across the city isn’t meant to predict the future. Instead, it is meant to be something that can help you as you use your own judgment about the best route to take.
In any given month, there may be over 10,000 motor vehicle collisions in New York City. Using the Route Risk Calculator can give you important data that can be used to reduce your risk of an accident. If you know that a particular intersection is dangerous or that a roadway has a relatively high number of crashes, you can use that information to make better decisions about how and where to drive. You may not be able to avoid certain streets or roads that have a low safety score — but you can be more alert to other drivers and potential dangers to lower the likelihood of being in an accident.
For example, the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Brooklyn has a score of F. Going through this intersection may be the best way to get to where you need to go — or it may be otherwise hard to avoid this particular intersection. Knowing that there are a relatively high number of crashes there can inform your driving choices, even if you still go down that particular road.
While this tool does not guarantee safety, it can be a source of information to lower your risk of being in an accident. Our goal is to have people throughout the city and surrounding areas use the Route Risk Calculator to make better decisions about where and how to drive. Even if you need to drive through an intersection or down a road with a low safety score, the knowledge you gain from this tool may empower you to drive more carefully in areas that you know are dangerous.
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
PROMOTION PERIOD: The Siler & Ingber Mineola MegaStar Contest begins on March 20, 2023 at 12:00 am ET and
ends on May 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.
ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible, a MegaStar must be a legal U.S. resident at least 16 years of age as of date of
Nomination. A Mineola MegaStar is defined as a person who lives or works in Mineola and is admired or idealized for their courage, dedication, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. By participating, Entrants agree to be
bound by the official rules. Sponsors reserve the right to verify and determine eligibility in their sole discretion.
TO PARTICIPATE: During the Promotion Period, Siler & Ingber will accept from the members of the public (herein, the “Nominators”) nominations of Eligible Entrants (Mineola Megastars) who live or works in Mineola. Nominations may be entered by visiting www.nylawnet.com/mineolamegastar and completing the online form and essay submission or by emailing photo and essay to marketing@nylawnet.com during the Promotion Period to receive one (1) entry. Essay must not exceed 500 words. Acceptable essay formats are word documents or pdf ONLY. Nominations submitted without all required information or after the Promotion Period will be disregarded.
Online submissions must be received by May 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET to be eligible. All entries become the exclusive property of Siler & Ingber and will not be acknowledged or returned.
ESSAY: During the promotion period, an Entrant can nominate a Mineola MegaStar for the contest by submitting a
photo and essay. The essay must describe why the individual should be chosen as the award winner, including how the individual demonstrates some or all of the following qualifications:
1) an inspiring example to others by helping make Mineola a better place to live (through volunteerism, extra-curricular actives, special projects, giving back, etc.)
2) going above and beyond to aid a friend, family member, stranger or community in a time of need; and/or
3) love of profession and desire, determination and diligence to help outside of normal job responsibilities. The essay must be in English and no more than 500 words. All information provided must be truthful, accurate and complete. An Entrant cannot nominate more than one Hero.
Submitted Materials: Each essay must satisfy all the following submission requirements the Submission
Requirements:
· The essay must be the original creation of Entrant.
· The essay must not portray any recognizable individual without their prior consent, including consent from the
Hero.
· Entrant must either own all rights to the essay or otherwise have the right to submit the essay in the contest and to provide the rights to Sage Surfaces as set forth herein.
· The essay must not infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights.
· The essay may not contain illegal, indecent, obscene, pornographic, or sexually explicit content, or otherwise offensive material or inappropriate content such as aberrational behavior, graphic violence, drug abuse, or nudity.
· The essay must not promote bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
· The essay must be non-defamatory and must not invade any third party’s right of privacy or publicity.
· The essay must otherwise be appropriate for publication or broadcast or display on a general interest website.
By submitting an essay, each Entrant represents and warrants that the essay meets all of the submission
requirements and that the distribution, reproduction, display and any other uses of any part of the essay by Siler & Ingber as permitted herein will not infringe any third-party rights. Each Entrant further agrees to indemnify and hold Siler & Ingber harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, costs, liabilities and causes of action of whatsoever nature that are based upon or arise out of any breach by such Entrant of such warranties or representations made by contestant or of these official rules.
By submitting an essay, Entrant grants to Siler & Ingber a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, royalty-free license (and waives all moral rights in and to the essay) to display or otherwise use the essay in connection with this promotion and as set forth herein. If Siler & Ingber determines, in its sole discretion and at any time during the promotion period, that any nomination violates the submission requirements, is otherwise unsuitable, offensive, or in poor taste, or violates these official rules, Siler & Ingber reserves the right to remove and disqualify the essay. Siler & Ingber retains sole
discretion as to whether any nomination satisfies the submission requirements and the official rules.
WINNER SELECTION: For the entry period, a panel of judges will select potential Mineola Megastar finalists based on the compelling nature of the essay based on the criteria set forth herein. Top 5 entries will be announced on May 10, 2023. We will post the top 5 on social media. Final winner announced May 15, 2023. Award Ceremony for Mineola MegaStar will take place on May 19, 2023.
WINNER NOTIFICATION AND RELEASES: We will attempt to notify potential winners via telephone and/or email. If a potential winner: (a) does not respond within 48 hours of initial notification attempt; (b) is not in compliance with these official rules, (c) does not meet the eligibility requirements, (d) declines the prize, he or she will be disqualified, and an alternate winner will be selected by applying the criteria set forth above.
PRIZES: There is 1 Mineola MegaStar. Winner will receive a $500 Cash Prize.
PUBLICITY AND MARKETING: Submission of a nomination in the contest constitutes permission to Siler & Ingber to use Entrants name, identity, title, likeness, distinctive appearance, physical likeness, image, portrait, picture, photograph (whether still or moving), screen persona, voice, vocal style, statements, gesture, mannerism, personality, performance characteristic, biographical data, signature, social media handles and identities, and any other indicia or imitation of identity or likeness for purposes of advertising and trade, in any medium, without further notice, approval, or compensation, unless prohibited by law.
PRIZE RESTRICTIONS: No transfer, assignment, sale, duplication, cash redemption or substitution of Prize (or portion of Prize) is permitted, except by Sponsors, which reserve the right to substitute a Prize (or applicable portion of Prize) with one of comparable or greater value, as determined by Sponsors. Sponsors are not responsible for and will not replace a lost or stolen Prize or any component thereof. All Prize details are at Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion. Non-compliance with these Official Rules may result in disqualification and, at Sponsors’ sole discretion, the awarding of Prize to an alternate winner.
VERIFICATION OF OFFICIAL WINNER: ALL PRIZE WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION BY SPONSORS, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST.