DOT To Investigate Dangerous Queens Intersection
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
NY1 recently staked out a dangerous Queens intersection that's led to five serious injuries over the last four years, and several motorists were caught blatantly disregarding the rules of the road. NY1’s Ruschell Boone filed the following report.It's almost like a game of chicken. Drivers speed through the stop sign on Vleigh Place in an attempt to beat cars with the right of way on 72nd Avenue.
And while most make it through the intersection without a problem, neighborhood residents say they have witnessed a lot of accidents.
“There have been about four accidents in the past maybe month and a half. People fly past the stop sign like it doesn't exist,” said one resident.
“I moved in right down from the corner a couple of months ago, and I have been noticing that a couple times a week there have been accidents,” said another.
The Department of Transportation said its 2006 to 2010 numbers show that five people, including one pedestrian, have been seriously injured at the intersection. Fortunately, no one has been killed.
NY1 didn't see any accidents at the location, but there were a lot of near misses as drivers sped or slowly rolled through the intersection. It's an especially dangerous maneuver because the blind spots on 72nd Avenue make it difficult to see oncoming traffic.
“There should definitely be a traffic light or at the minimum a speed bump or a hanging red light,” said one resident.”
Residents say they also want to see more policing here, which the local community board is now looking into. Watching the corner for three hours, NY1 noticed countless drivers committing serious traffic violations.
As captured in the video above, one man narrowly missed NY1’s Ruschell Boone while driving the wrong way up a one-way street, and he wasn't the only one doing it. One woman made a U-turn when she saw NY1’s camera. NY1 also saw people speeding through the residential neighborhood.
“This is reckless,” said one resident.
After reaching out to the city for comment, DOT officials said that they studied the location two years ago after a request was made for a four-way stop sign or traffic light. The DOT determined it wasn't needed, but the agency said it will open another study as a result of our inquiry.