Sammy's Law is a New York City law being talked about in the media this year, led by a determined mother who tragically lost her 12-year-old son Sammy in an accident more than a decade ago.

What makes Sammy's Law so important? Activists have gone as far as going on a hunger strike to urge the State Assembly to enact a law allowing New York City to lower some speed limits from the current 25 miles per hour limit to 20. Why did they go this far? Well, in New York City, 96 kids have died in traffic accidents since Sammy's death more than ten years ago, and even more fatal accidents take place each day on streets where speed limits are just 25 mph.

What Exactly Is Sammy’s Law?

Sammy's Law does not require lower speed limits; rather, it just permits New York City to do so. The city's Department of Transportation is likely to begin its speed limit reduction efforts on the streets with the highest crash rates, many of which occur in low-income communities of color.

Accident and Fatality Statistics

For example, Canal Street has had 1071 crashes since 2019 with 1 fatality, while 2nd Ave had 2,581 accidents with 6 deaths. Other streets like W 42nd Street and Buffalo Ave reported hundreds of accidents, but zero deaths fortunately.

There's 50 streets in NYC that, since 2019, account for 8% of all accidents, but make just just 2% of the city's total street space. Furthermore, official NYC statistics point to unsafe driving as the contributing factor for more than 575,000 traffic collisions, or 356 every day. During these accidents, 224,776 people were injured and 1,149 were killed.

Interestingly, the lowest permitted speed restriction on most New York streets is 25 miles per hour. On streets with this speed limit, there were over 400,000 accidents, 16,000 injuries and over 780 fatalities reported.

Will Sammy’s Law Make a Difference?

How Sammy's Law would impact this is clear. Research from The BMJ shows that slowing down in areas with frequent accidents will greatly reduce collisions and fatalities. In Britain, 20 mph speed limits in metropolitan areas cut down on traffic accidents by 60%.

"We have the tools to put in place to save lives. We just need our elected officials to have the courage to demand them, to implement them," Amy Cohen, mother of late victim Sammy, said to Fox5 News.

Suffered Injuries in an NYC Car Accident? Brandon J. Broderick is Here To Help

With or without the implementation of Sammy's Law in New York City, car accidents can and will happen. It's important to take legal action against the negligent parties, whether it resulted in injury or far worse. The NY car accident lawyers of Brandon J. Broderick are here as your advocates for justice. We fight for the best possible outcome for our clients and won't rest until we get just that.

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