The only motorist on Earth who knows how to drive has sustained a shattering blow to his reputation. Yesterday morning first responders arrived at the scene of a single-car accident on the FDR near East 71st Street to find a Nissan Altima flipped upside down in the middle of the highway. The Post reports the driver was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The tabloid does not publish his name, but a bumper sticker on the back of his car clearly identifies him, with the rhetorical question "Why am I the only one on the planet who knows how to drive?" more ›

The driver who fatally struck a cyclist on Staten Island last week remains at large, and with each passing day the odds of catching him or her diminish. In this excellent article, the Staten Island Advance reports that an analysis of 15 fatal hit-and-runs on Staten Island from 2005 to 2011 shows that in all 10 of the solved cases, police either had the driver in custody or had a good idea of the driver's identity within 48 hours. In the five cases where the driver wasn't found within 48 hours, no arrests have been made. more ›

Awesomely named area man Vincent Ferrari is so fed up with drivers ignoring the stop sign on his street in the East Bronx that he recently sat outside and videotaped the procession of scofflaws. more ›

Yesterday's discovery of an 11th body on Gilgo State Beach in Long Island was well timed. It came exactly a year after the first corpses of sex workers were found on the beach, and also just one day before our City Council started hearings to discuss the drivers who shuttle (willing and unwilling) prostitutes around. It seems especially fitting since Shannan Gilbert, the New Jersey prostitute whose body may have been found yesterday, certainly spent a lot of time with those drivers. more ›

The future ain't what it used to be: scientists are running out of time to get Nexus-6 models and Voight-Kampff machines ready for 2019, when the events of Blade Runner will come to pass. But at least they're developing other technologies from our favorite films and TV shows! Nike recently announced Back To The Future shoes (although it's a bummer they don't tie themselves), and now some Swiss scientists are developing a real life Knight Rider car, with a Minority Report twist—the car can read its driver's mind and predict his or her next move! more ›

People tend to take a lot of liberties when describing things they deem "necessary," so here's a little primer. Food is necessary, demanding filet mignon for dinner every night is not. Shelter is necessary, $7 million dollars just to feel rich is not. The ability to get to where you want to go is necessary, but having three professional chauffeurs on rotating 16-hour shifts is definitely not. more ›

The NYPD is almost halfway through its 24-hour crackdown (it started at midnight) on drivers who are using cell phones. Here's what NY's Finest had to say about the effort: more ›

While we are talking about illegal taxi practices, the first in what the Post calls a "conga-line of allegedly chiseling cabbies" has pleaded guilty to defrauding fares by charging them a suburban rate while in the city. Hassan Chowdhury is expected to get 100 days of community service and five years of probation when he is sentenced in March (curiously, he isn't going to be going to prison, as the prosecution wanted). He stole nearly $6,000 over 3,126 trips using the "Rate 4" scam. One down, 58 bad cabbies to go... more ›

Have you ever fantasized about having your own chauffeur? Perhaps a short man in a suit and black cap who opens doors for you, and amuses you with tales of bad clients past? Well now you may get a little itsy bit closer to that fantasy: the Taxi and Limousine Commission have announced that they plan to issue a new dress code for taxi drivers, requiring them to "present a professional appearance." more ›

How bad are New York drivers? Well, according to some new numbers The Daily Beast crunched, there are 33 states with worse drivers than us (congrats, North Dakota, for being #1). Don't get too cocky, however, last year a different study named us the state with The Worst drivers in all the nation. Here's the breakdown of numbers that landed us in the #34 spot this time around: more ›

Oh sure, NYC taxi drivers may occasionally crash through a coffee shop or cheat passengers over $1 million, but we know they know what they're doing. That's what a new unscientific survey from hotels.com scientifically proves once and for all! more ›

Sometimes, doormen shake down taxi drivers. Other times, taxi drivers overcharge passengers. On some special occasions, taxi officials wish each other dead. The cycle of abuse goes on today, with a new report that the Taxi and Limousine Commission is investigating allegations that taxi dispatchers are tacitly forcing tips from cabbies in order to procure working vehicles. more ›

The holidays must be a lucrative time for drivers who lure passengers into their unlicensed taxis at airports, but the Port Authority is making it tough for them this year. Yesterday Queens DA Richard Brown announced [pdf] that a crackdown on unlicensed taxi drivers has resulted in 18 arrests at JFK and LaGuardia. The arrests come a month after Governor Paterson signed a bill increasing penalties for unlawfully soliciting ground transportation at an airport, making it a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,250. more ›

As the NY Post continues their takedown of the pedicab industry today, we wonder who causes the most trouble on the city's streets. more ›

We all know that pedestrians are crazy about jaywalking, and bikers are outspoken about every single thing they can possibly be outspoken about, but what about drivers? Well, they're just rude. You knew that, but now Streetfilms has a scaremongering video, complete with subtle eerie soundtrack music, that assures the viewer they probably encountered death multiple times today. more ›

According to GMAC Insurance's annual National Driver Test, drivers in the Empire State are dead last in the country. You can take the test here; New Yorkers scored an average of 70.5 while top honors went to Idaho and Wisconsin drivers, who received 80.6. NJ is second to last and California is fourth to last, with Hawaii in between. NY1's Roger Clark posed some questions to drivers—here's an exchange (spoiler warning, if you planned on taking the test): "Roger Clark: 'A traffic light with a flashing red signal means: A) Yield; B) Stop; C) Caution.' Driver: 'I think it's C. Caution, slow down. When I see it, I slow down.' Clark: 'Actually, you're supposed to stop.' Driver: 'You are? I do not stop.'" more ›

Like Melissa Plaut before them, it's being reported that "thousands of New York City residents laid off in the financial crisis have turned to driving taxis." One problem: now there are too many cabbies and not enough cabs. Harlem Yellow Cab says they're "sending people home every shift without a car. It's a very bad situation." City officials report 45,805 taxicab drivers, 13,000 taxis, and "the number of new hack licenses the city issued rose 19% in the past three months." The Daily News points towards one driver, who turned to the profession a few months ago after being a successful realtor and mortgage broker for 20 years. He told them he wanted to remain anonymous for the article: "not because I am ashamed, or embarrassed, but my children are. We are very well-known in our community and lived a good life for so many years." But with the economic crisis hitting just about everyone, are people even taking cabs anymore? more ›

In the wake of the fatal stabbing of B46 bus driver Edwin Thomas by a passenger earlier this month in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the MTA has announced a pilot program to test partitions that would separate drivers from passengers. The partitions will be tested on buses operating out of the Flatbush Depot in Brooklyn, the Times reports. A committee studying bus driver safety is also urging the MTA do away with the paper transfers issued on buses because it's a common cause of confrontation between drivers and passengers. Thomas was allegedly stabbed to death by 20-year-old Horace Moore after Thomas refused to hand out a paper transfer because he hadn't paid his fare. And the MTA also released a study showing that there were 236 assaults on bus drivers so far this year through December 9th, and 18 percent of those were related to fare evasion. (67 of the incidents involved the driver being spit on.) more ›

Four more people can be added to the total number of New Yorkers who have been run down by drivers finding it difficult to stay on the road this weekend. In the fourth incident in two days, two toddlers were badly injured when a 16-year-old driver swerved onto the sidewalk in Flatbush, Brooklyn and injured two children and two young women. Both of the toddlers needed to be hospitalized--one in critical condition and the other in stable condition. more ›

Gerritsen Beach posted this photograph of $4-and-over gasoline in Sheepshead Bay and asked, "Is this hell?" Well, for those drivers who could afford to fill up and head out of town this Memorial weekend, it might be heaven--the Daily News has two photos showing the contrast in traffic between this year's and last year's automobile rush on the Sunrise Highway. more ›

The existence of dedicated bike lanes are a sought-after city feature by New York's cyclists; but even when they appear they're often blocked by delivery trucks and drivers who remain oblivious to their existence. While Mayor Bloomberg has attempted to discourage drivers--or cash in on them--in the city with congestion pricing, the mere existence of bike lanes apparently does little to prevent drivers from owning the roads. The Times looks into the conundrum of bike lane non-compliance today.

Although city regulations forbid cars from blocking bike lanes — a violation that carries a $115 fine — those rules are routinely ignored by drivers who use the lanes as parking spots, loading zones and places to pick up passengers. Such maneuvers have enraged cyclists who say they are unlawful, rude and dangerous.

Weighing in on the modified congestion pricing plan the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission recommended, Mayor Bloomberg said:

"The Commission has done a thorough and thoughtful job. They've taken testimony from hundreds of residents, community leaders and civic organizations. They've held dozens of public meetings and have analyzed mountains of data. Although the final recommendation varies from our original proposal, I accept it. more ›

Although traffic fatalities decreased for pedestrians, drivers and their passengers in 2007, last year saw an uptick in motorcycle and bicycle deaths. The numbers announced yesterday by the mayor at a press conference in Brighton Beach add up, overall, to the lowest number of traffic deaths since the city began keeping track almost a century ago. more ›

The Independent Budget Office released a report examining who might be affected by congestion pricing. The report, "Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into The Proposed 'Congestion Zone'" can be read here (PDF) but the topline is that drivers are middle-class and over half are from Nassau County, Westchester, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The report states, "Looking at the extremes of the earnings distribution for all congestion zone commuters, motor vehicle users were less likely... more ›