Yikes: The Buffalo Police Department released this video of an 18-year-old man being struck by a hit-and-run driver, and it's pretty intense. It shows Victor Jerez and two other men walking in the street; they see a car coming, so they rush to the sidewalk. But the driver comes barreling onto the sidewalk, hitting Jerez and sending him flipping through the air. more ›

The NY State Police are looking to crack down for drivers who are using their cell phones—and other electronic devices—while driving this week. Governor Cuomo said, "Using a cell phone while driving is illegal and puts other motorists in danger." more ›

We're often accused of wielding a cyclist slant here at Gothamist, so allow us to give you an unfiltered perspective from one cheery Staten Island motorist. The Staten Island Advance pointed us in the direction of YouTube user "we5leyz," who has a camera mounted on his dashboard that captures him blowing his "train horn," cursing at jaywalkers as he speeds through intersections, and making illegal U-turns. more ›

The family of a man injured in a motorcycle accident involving a 90-year-old driver is questioning whether someone that age should even be on the road. 55-year-old Angel Colon is suing 90-year-old Marion Clement after his leg was partially amputated due to an accident in Ancram. Clement was driving a rented minivan to visit her disabled son when she made a left into a group of motorcyclists. "They don't rent to 21-year-olds. Why should they rent to a 90-year-old?" Colon's wife asks the Post. Yeah! Who let that senior citizen out of her cage? more ›

Over the past five years the city has been adding more and more red-light cameras to our intersections. We're up to 150 of them in the city now, and that number could go up again. The Daily News got ahold of records that shows that the cameras—which auto ticket drivers who blow through reds without needing a cop on hand—are turning into a steady cash cow for the state and Albany wants more. more ›

Oh dear, it looks like there's a bit of a traffic jam on the Williamsburg Bridge, and we're too late to exit! No sweat, we'll just hang a hard right, jump the curb, drive on the sidewalk, cut through the bike path, and go to Dram tonight instead of Cienfuegos. Hey look, we're not the only geniuses with this bright idea! And ha, some guy's videotaping. Whatever! more ›

A woman remains in critical condition after a car that was attempting to back into a Midtown parking space, jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and pinned her against a building. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. in front of the Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar, at 130 West 58th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. more ›

How long do you think it would take you to drive the entire way around the isle of Manhattan? Because whatever time you've got in your head we're pretty sure it'll be hard to top the time that this driver pulled off at some point last year. Going up the FDR, across at the GW Bridge Interchange, down the Henry Hudson, and across again at the Battery Park Tunnel he managed to do the 24 mile trek in 26 minutes (averaging 56 mph with a top speed of 111 mph). more ›

After several fatal car accidents in recent years, NY has been trying to crack down on texting-while-driving. And now, the State Senate has passed a bill which will make it infinitely easier for police to pull over people for the offense. Which means no more romancing while driving, as well. more ›

We all know that smoking crack and driving is just a bad combination, right? Because if it isn't the "coke bugs" crawling all over you that distracts you from the terrifying hallucinations flying around your car driving, then it'll probably be the argument you get into due to your extreme paranoia and irritability...as one Long Island woman learned the hard way. more ›

Starting in January, the prices of tolls and parking meters will both jump. Add that to rising gas prices and you've got a bunch of commuters who aren't happy with the cost of driving into Manhattan. For example, someone driving from the Rockaways into Midtown will pay an average $2,895 more a year. Riverdale resident Anna Arsenous told CBS 2. “Can I afford it? Really not. I’ll have to adjust something else." The MTA is hoping the rising costs of driving will put more people on the subways; a spokesman said, "taking the train or bus will always be the most affordable way to get around New York." And so convenient from the Rockaways! more ›

Chris Simms is gaining quite the reputation: the currently out-of-work quarterback is on trial after he was caught earlier this summer allegedly driving while stoned. PO Francisco Acosta, the arresting officer who pulled him over after he made a "wild turn" on Houston St., testified in the pre-trial hearing: "It was coming from his breath. I had a headache. Even my tongue got numb...He was like a zombie, like a slow motion type of person." more ›

An underage driver was charged with criminally negligent homicide after he crashed a van into a parked car, a tree and a house, killing his 13-year-old back-seat passenger. Eric Hakimisefat, 16, who only has a junior license, which prohibits him from driving without a parent or guardian, had been speeding in the Midwood section of Brooklyn—he was allegedly going over 60 mph in a 30-mph zone. 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 ›

Tian Sheng Lin, the 53-year-old deliveryman struck by texting teen Nechama Rothberger as she was driving down Avenue P Sunday night, has been declared brain dead at Kings County Hospital. Rothberger was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and using a mobile phone while driving, but at her arraignment last night her lawyer said she "didn't hit him intentionally. It was merely an accident." Oh, well that changes everything! Investigators found a half-written outgoing message on her phone. more ›

Okay, so we know the slow speeds that some buses travel at don't make for the most enthralling ride ever, but when drivers start furtively texting under the wheel—while driving—like high school students under their desks, you know there's a problem. A Brooklyn bus rider nabbed a snapshot of her B47 driver with his Screen of Distraction on Wednesday night. She told NY1, "He never put the phone away to put two hands on the wheel. He drove with one hand on the wheel, while holding the phone in his other hand." more ›

Today the NYPD is conducting another 24-hour ticketing blitz, targeting drivers talking or texting on their cell phones and expecting to hand out thousands of $130 fines. In terms of slow reaction times, a University of Utah study found that talking on the phone while driving is comparable to having a BAC of .08. But some New Yorkers find it hard to put down their phones. One city driver told NY1, "It's tempting, especially because my cell phone is my GPS." Wouldn't it be just as bad if he were looking at a map the whole time? more ›

The mother of 18-year-old Kayla Gerdes who jumped a curb and drove a passenger van into a Hempstead home— fatally striking the home's 69-year-old owner—defended her daughter yesterday. Tara Gerdes told Inside Edition, "It's your worst nightmare as a parent to have this happen. They're portraying her as a horrible teenaged girl who doesn't care, could care less. It's so not true." more ›

If city residents drove as often as the rest of America (or, let's face it, if as many of them had drivers licenses), we'd need a 25 sq. mile parking lot to fit all the cars. According to a new city commissioned study, there would be 4.5 million more cars clogging up rush hour traffic if New Yorkers drove the same amount as folks in other metropolitan centers. Well, maybe it's high time we put that giant useless space in the middle of Manhattan to good use? more ›

Apparently the Daily News has never seen one of these, because they are really excited about LED license plates. Their main subject, "Rich Man," just outfitted his SUV with one of these bad boys, and he's using a remote to tell drivers behind him whatever he wants, like "Back Off" or "Don't Even Ask." Sassy! more ›

A Queens mother is suing the city because her daughter was killed by a drug-addled driver when she was supposed to be in foster care. Algerlin Willis announced on Wednesday that she intends to file a $10 million suit against the Administration for Children's Services and Little Flower Children's Services of New York for the October death of her 15-year-old daughter, Katherine, who perished when a woman who had smoked crack, used heroin, and drank alcohol earlier in the day drove a van full of foster children into oncoming traffic. more ›

Even though texting while driving is now illegal, government agencies continue to send text messages to motorists. In what the Daily News calls "an ironic communication breakdown," thousands of New York drivers receive texts about traffic and road conditions from government agencies despite a statewide ban on checking and sending texts while behind the wheel. more ›

NYC Transit is investigating an incident where a passenger photographed an X5 bus driver texting while on the FDR Drive and Gowanus Expressway. The passenger told Staten Island Advance, "He must have texted three or four times. I remember there was one instance on the FDR where he rolled into the right lane but quickly corrected himself. It was pretty frightening. We had a full bus...and even he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. I really don't get it." more ›

Move over, NYPD 24-hour cellphone use-while-driving ticket blitzes—tomorrow, the NY State's ban on texting while driving goes into effect. But, the AP points out, "The new law, however, is considered a secondary offense, meaning the driver must have committed a primary offense -- such as speeding, disobeying a traffic signal or other violation -- in order to receive a ticket." Fines can be up to $150; the law doesn't apply to GPS or handsfree phone use. more ›

The woman who crashed a van full of foster children into oncoming traffic in Queens on Monday confessed to police that she smoked crack cocaine around 1 or 2 a.m., did heroin around 9 a.m., and drank one alcoholic beverage around noon that same day. Sheila Bethea, 45, also admitted to speeding, and told police she did not know 5-year-olds needed to be in car seats. (None of her passengers were even wearing seat belts.) Perhaps even more devastating is the revelation that the children were supposed to taken to their foster care appointment in a cab. more ›

Since 12:01 a.m., the NYPD has been doing this crazy thing whereby they enforce the law, issuing tickets to drivers using portable electronic devices in one of their regular 24-hour sting operations. And one driver we know has already gotten nailed. The scofflaw, who asked to remain anonymous, was shocked to find that he was being ticketed for what the cop perceived as sending a text message. But he wasn't texting, ociffer! more ›

On November 1st, a new law banning texting or using electronic devices like iPods and laptops while driving goes into effect in New York State. But Senator Chuck Schumer announced yesterday at one of his patented Sunday press conferences that he's pushing for a nationwide ban on texting. Schumer cited data showing that text-messaging while driving has resulted in almost 100 teen deaths over the last five years in the city and on Long Island. more ›

It's understandable for a public school administrator to want a li'l drinky-poo after a hard day's work dealing with the kiddies, but driving to school sloshed? Those kids at IS 217 in the Bronx must be monsters! Assistant principal Melonie Lendor was arrested on the New York State Thruway in Rockland County at around 6:40 a.m. yesterday after other drivers called 911 because she was driving so erratically. Police say she failed a field sobriety test, but refused to take a Breathalyzer test. Worse: Her 10-month-old son was in the car. Still worse: This is her third drunken-driving bust. That means she's (finally) charged with felony driving while intoxicated and child endangerment. A seventh-grader at the school tells the Post, "No wonder we didn't see her today," but students should probably be used to that by now; a teacher tells the Daily News, "She was entirely missing from the school at times. She seems to make bad decisions." more ›