Last year the city was hit with over 1,000 lawsuits and hundreds of complaints about reckless and dangerous garbage trucks. The city paid $17.6 million to settle claims about the trucks making illegal U-turns, taking out side-view mirrors and trees, and going the wrong way down one-way streets. There have been over 6,000 garbage truck accidents in the past three years, and 294 people have been injured. Sanitation spokesman Vito Turso said most of the accidents are "fender benders" that happen during snow storms, and that they are working on an accident reduction program. more ›

Rev. Al Sharpton's ex-wife and daughter are off the hook on charges of obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, harassment and disorderly conduct, after unleashing a string of curse words at cops in Harlem. Today they received an dismissal of charges, provided they aren't arrested in the next six months (23-year-old Dominique Sharpton was recently involved in an alleged domestic abuse incident), reports the Post. "In America, you have the right to object to police action," said the women's lawyer. "And certainly you should not be arrested and prosecuted for objecting if you've committed no crime." more ›

In their latest effort to catch up with bad drivers—especially those with a cell phone in their lap or on their ear—Westchester cops have introduced a new look to the force’s automotive fleet. The “ghost car”, as it’s commonly called, is a cruiser, but its white on white design makes it harder to spot. “I thought you were a taxi,” or “I didn’t recognize it was a cop car,” say the targets, caught unaware. So far there are no statistics on how well the sneak-up approach works, but anecdotal evidence suggests that as drivers get better at hiding their mobile infractions, the ghost outsmarts them. “Can you see it?” an officer joked with a Times reporter, standing in front of the car in the precinct's parking lot. more ›

After studying four intersections for 38 hours, Transportation Alternatives, the bicycling, walking and public transit advocacy group, has released a report with suggestions for the NYPD on reducing "the most dangerous driving behaviors." Some of the findings: "Traffic law violations occur three times every minute (157 times an hour) per intersection" and "On average, each intersection had 24 Failure to Yield violations per hour. Failure to Yield is the second most frequent human factor in causing motor vehicle crashes." more ›