Pedestrian Accidents in New York may be less likely in the area after the first 20 miles per hour Slow Zone recently opened.  More of these zones are expected to launch in the city in the near future, according to NY Daily News.

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The new zone is located within a few residential neighborhoods between West Farms Road and Southern Boulevard in the Claremont area of the Bronx.  This neighborhood recorded the highest pedestrian death rate in the city and officials believed this was a good place to start with the program.  There were nearly 50 people either injured or died from 2006 to 2010 in just Community Board 3.

Our New York Pedestrian Accidents Attorneys understand that more than 300 pedestrians were killed in the state of New York in 2009.  Our state ranks as one of the most dangerous in the U.S. for these types of accidents.  Speeding and inattentive drivers are some of the top causes for these fatal accidents.  Reducing the speed limits, safety experts believe, may be one of the most effective ways to reduce the risks for these types of accidents. More than half of all traffic fatalities in New York City involve pedestrians. 

The Claremont neighborhood has the highest traffic-pedestrian accident and death rate in the city. Between 2006 and 2010, nearly 50 pedestrians were injured or died in traffic accident within Community Board 3, which includes Claremont.

"To some people, this neighborhood is nothing more than a short cut," said Janette Sadik-Khan, the Transportation Commissioner. 

Sadik-Khan says that drivers use this cut through as a speedway to cut off time from their commute.  This is when pedestrians are injured and killed, when speedy, careless drivers zoom through residential neighborhoods.

In Claremont's Slow Zone, 28 speed limit signs and nine speed bumps were recently installed.  These devices are used to significantly slow the passing traffic.  The speed limit was dropped from 30 mph to 20 mph.

According to Sadik-Khan, a pedestrian that is hit by a passing vehicle that's traveling at 20 miles per hour has a more than percent chance of surviving.  When a vehicle is traveling at 40 miles per hour, a pedestrian's chance of survival dips to 30 percent.