Mayor Bloomberg and Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced in January that New York City traffic fatalities fell to an all-time record low in 2009.

Last year, there were 256 traffic fatalities in New York City, 12 percent fewer than in 2008, and a 35 percent reduction compared to 2001. The previous record low was in 2007, with 274 fatalities. Traffic safety records have been kept in New York City since 1910. Since 2001, safety gains have been made across all categories: vehicle drivers and passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists and seniors, the population most vulnerable to traffic fatalities.

The reductions in fatalities come as the City has instituted unprecedented safety improvements in street engineering and expanded NYPD enforcement of traffic laws across the five boroughs.

(Dov Gordon – YWN)