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Road Rage Island

Posted by Glenn on April 11, 2006 - 5:28pm in The Oil Drum: Local

What is going on in Staten Island over the last day?

Staten Island is mostly known as being the forgotten borough, the safe, quiet suburbs in the midst of urban chaos. But today, it is taking center stage mostly because of automobile death and destruction. First, there was an incident of Cop vs. Cop Road Rage:

A retired hero Port Authority cop from New Springville, out with his wife to pick up Chinese food, was shot dead last night, hit at least eight times in a barrage of 17 bullets fired by an ex-NYPD detective who snapped in a fit of road rage because the victim had been driving too slow, cops said.

It seems the shooter was drunk, with two equally deadly weapons: A car and a gun.

Then, there were a couple of major Accidents:

Car crash on upper level of Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
1:31 p.m. - A car crash on the Brooklyn-bound upper level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has backed up traffic at the bridge as emergency vehicles respond. Heavy traffic is hampering access to the crash scene. First reports indicate an occupant of the car may be injured. Further details were not immediately available.

Motorist hurt when car plows into house
10:14 a.m. - A car has struck the front of a house at 438 St. Marks Place in Tompkinsville, partially collapsing the front of the building and injuring the driver of the auto. Firefighters have called for an ambulance, and are preparing to shore up the building.

I recently heard a statistic from someone at Transportation Alternatives that 1 in 7 ER visits on Staten Island are "auto-related". Beyond the problems pollution, obesity and dependence on foreign oil, you have to start to think that automobiles are dangerous to the drivers, passengers and everyone in their path and just might make people a little sociopathic.

Read some of the reactions from Staten Islanders here

Road Rage Island

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3 comments

The Interloafer on April 11, 2006 - 11:23pm Permalink | Comments top
You could probably write a post like this every single day just on deaths, debilitating injuries and property damage caused by automobiles in the metropolitan area. Maybe that would be an interesting blog.
Glenn on April 12, 2006 - 7:36am Permalink | Parent | Comments top
Yeah, I was thinking about how much must happen everyday on the city's streets that goes unreported in the media and then just gets added as another statistic.
Essex Land Rover Man on April 12, 2006 - 2:50pm Permalink | Comments top
It seems New York is just the same as London, but with more guns. We get a few drive by and car shootings in parts of London, but they are a rarity. We definitely get lots of road rage over here. I feel as a motorist, some people drive very safely, some drive to the conditions and some drive to fast. As a cyclist, I feel very safe on the roads. I think central London wuold be dangerous though for unaware cyclists.

Road Rage Island

PDF version

3 comments