Potholes are a Major Cause of Car Accidents in NYC
It is no secret that NYC streets are littered with potholes with varying degrees of depth and width. Hitting a pothole “head-on” with an automobile can be dangerous and may even cause a flat tire. Swerving to avoid a pothole can cause a sideswipe car accident. If you swerve and wind up on the shoulder you can strike a bicyclist. On the other hand, if you swerve to avoid a pothole and wind up on the sidewalk, you may cause a pedestrian accident.
Types of Potholes that Can Cause NYC Car Accidents
- Cave-ins: these are deep and often times elongated missing pieces of roadway- much worse than your average run-of-the-mill pothole. They are usually the result of infrastructure problems and The Department of Transportation, or DOT is responsible for inspecting and reporting them.
- Hummocks: this is where a side of the roadway is actually pushed-up and higher than the surrounding roadway. Usually located at intersections where there is congested bus and tractor-trailer traffic, coming into contact with a hummock can cause a sideswipe accident.
- Fatigue Cracks: commonly occurs on asphalt and may resemble a spiderweb, or the back of an alligator, which is why they are sometimes called spiderwebbing or alligator cracking.
- Sink Holes: usually the result of drainage issues underground, they can be seen as a substantial drop in elevation and pose serious dangers to drivers in NYC.
If an NYC bicyclist hits a pothole she can be thrown from the bike and struck by a motorist, which can be fatal. Similarly, if a motorcyclist is unable to avoid a pothole, either because of bad weather conditions which make it difficult to see it or if there are cars on either side of the motorcyclist, a devastating crash can result.
Contact a New York Car Accident Attorney Today
If you are a victim of a serious accident, it’s important that you seek legal help. New York car accident attorney Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. P.C. can advocate on your behalf and help you achieve a reasonable outcome. To learn more, contact his office by phone or online.
In over a decade of legal practice, Attorney Michael Redenburg began his career defending cases for the clients of insurance companies. Initially defending no-fault claims at a Long Island-based law firm, he then moved on to a Manhattan-based firm where he defended the clients of insurance carriers in an auto accident and premises liability matters.
