Last year 342 car accidents in New York City were caused by fatigued or drowsy drivers and 626 by drivers who fell asleep behind the wheel according to NYPD statistics. Driver fatigue is often experienced by taxi and limousine drivers who are working long shifts without proper rest.
A study conducted by the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and published last year in the the Singapore Medical Journal shows that one in 3 taxi drivers participating in the study experienced driver fatigue. The study also found that the risk of dozing off unexpectedly was much higher after 10 hours of driving.
Symptoms of driver fatigue include trouble concentrating on the road, unexpected nodding, short term memory issues, longer time to react when facing a dangerous situation, yawning and rubbing eyes as well as unexpectedly drifting out of the lane.
A woman suffered serious personal injury and a taxi passenger suffered head trauma after a taxi jumped the curb next to the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan. On Sunday morning, 41 year old Melissa Bernard was walking on the 84th street sidewalk next to the Metropolitan Museum with Bowen, her two year old son. Ahead of them her husband, Adam, was pushing their one year old daughter, Colette, in a stroller. As they were walking toward Central Park, Melissa told the New York Post that she noticed a taxi driving at a high speed toward them. She grabbed her son to protect him. The taxi jumped the curb and landed on the sidewalk just between her and her husband. The taxi then hit a light pole. The light pole fell on Melissa’s back head and neck leaving her with severe injury and a possible concussion. The child was not injured. According to the Gothamist,the passenger who was in the taxi at the time of the accident also suffered head trauma.
Mohammad Miah, the cab driver told the police that he tried to avoid another taxi who had cut him off. Mohamad said the other taxi was driving in the bus lane. He didn’t stop after the accident. The police are still investigating the causes of the accident. No citations have been issued so far. Pictures from the New York post show that surveillance video cameras were located at the the site of the accident. They should help the police determine exactly what happened.
The picture on the left is from Google Map. It shows the location of the accident. Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum and families heading to Central Park make this intersection a very busy spot. The taxi jumped the curb and landed against the fence of the Metropolitan Museum to the left of where the pedestrian with the red shirt is located on the picture.
An elderly pedestrian died after being struck by a taxi on The Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC early Sunday morning. 88 year old Luisa Rosario, a beloved neighborhood figure, was starting to cross 109 street with the light and had the right of way when a taxi which turned right onto 109th Street from Columbus Ave hit her. The taxi driver, 73 year old Salifu Abubkar, said he didn’t see the victim. He also told the police that he had been working non-stop for 16 hours. He was charged with failure to yield.
Taxi drivers are prohibited by the Taxi and Limousine Commission to drive more than 12 hours straight and if they do so they may be issued a summons by the Commission.