New York streets aren’t known for being clear and easily navigable at the best of times, and when holiday traffic is added, it can become a real nightmare.
Over the past few years, rideshare drivers have flooded our city streets. While that means affordable rides are always at the ready, it also means more traffic. One real concern for a lot of drivers and pedestrians in NYC is the large trucks making deliveries this holiday season. But the biggest risk many experts are seeing is the increase in crowdsourced deliveries that do not come from professional companies, but from delivery-share drivers.
Large trucks can do serious damage in collisions – even when other vehicles are not involved. When another driver, bicyclist, or pedestrian is struck by a commercial truck, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Holiday Traffic
Our city streets are already clogged all year long. In fact, we are now tied with Moscow for the second most congested city in the world, right after Los Angeles. As holiday drivers are added into the mix, this congestion becomes worse. And it’s not just the higher number of vehicles—drivers during the holidays can be more dangerous than usual due to long days, lack of sleep, stress, and numerous distractions.
Of course, it’s not just the streets that become crowded during the holidays. Pedestrians and bicyclists must share sidewalks and crosswalks, since there are more people shopping and walking around during the holidays. Falls can occur as a result of crowded sidewalks, and it’s important for everyone to watch out for each other and “share the road.”
More Commercial Trucks
One of the biggest sources of traffic during the holidays is the increase in deliveries due to online purchases and big holiday orders. As online shopping has grown in popularity, so has the need for additional delivery trucks and longer hours.
Our city has been lenient with delivery drivers in recent years, particularly when it comes to issuing tickets, so they can do their jobs. But that does not give commercial drivers an excuse to create more traffic problems. In general, commercial delivery drivers know how to navigate the city and manage their delivery times to keep traffic obstructions to a minimum. But there is another potential issue during the holidays: crowdsourced deliveries.
Crowdsourced Deliveries
New companies have created new solutions to delivery demands; in particular, crowdsourced delivery services that work much like ridesharing services. These businesses let someone order an item and have it delivered by a private driver using the app to get some extra money. Restaurants have been providing deliveries for years through these kinds of services, without the need to hire their own delivery drivers.
The problem is that many services have now sprung up to transport items other than food. In the past, a hundred packages would all be delivered by a single commercial driver with one truck. Now, those same hundred packages might be divided between a commercial truck and a dozen private drivers using apps to pick up and make deliveries. Each of those drivers brings more traffic and more opportunities for serious accidents.
Taking Action After a Crash
Professional delivery drivers are backed by large companies that provide commercial insurance for victims. These companies can also be subject to lawsuits if they are negligent in choosing or training their drivers. Rideshare and delivery apps do not necessarily have these same systems in place.
Anyone struck by a driver, particularly one who is making a delivery, should get a NYC truck accident lawyer right away before making any agreements with insurance companies. For a free consultation with Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, please call (212) 986-7353 today. It is easy to sign away one’s rights to future actions without an attorney to make sure you are protected. A small settlement is “little” compensation if you later find out the delivery driver had been drinking, or wasn’t screened properly by the app company and should never have been allowed to drive.
Safe driving out there!