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Traffic violations plague 104th Precinct

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THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre

If there was an auto accident in the confines of the 104th Precinct this year, there’s a good chance it was on Woodhaven Boulevard.

The thoroughfare has two intersections that are ranked in the top five in accidents throughout the precinct area – which includes the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood and Glendale – from January 1 to August 31.

There have been 78 accidents on Woodhaven Boulevard, according to statistics from the precinct, 54 where it intersects Union Turnpike and 24 where Woodhaven meets Myrtle Avenue.

To compare, the intersection of 59th Avenue and Queens Boulevard, which has been nicknamed the “Boulevard of Death,” has had the most accidents in the borough, with 85 during that time period.

“We are up plenty this year in accidents and injuries, one of the reasons is because last year we had a phenomenal year,” said 104th Precinct Captain Christopher Manson.

The traffic data was released by the precinct a week after a tragic accident on Grand Avenue in which an SUV jumped the curb and crashed into five students of nearby I.S. 73. One teenager involved in the accident died a few days later due to an asthma attack.

Comparatively, the intersection of 69th Street and Grand Avenue, which is near the SUV crash site, had 27 accidents for the year, according to the precinct.

The precinct issued 6,975 moving violations for the year throughout August, which is up 3.6 percent from August 2012.

There have been more than 650 people caught driving without licenses from August of 2012 to August 2013, and more than 780 summonses have been issued to people talking on cell phones.

In that same time period police found more than 1,280 driving without seat belts.

In August the precinct also issued about 80 summonses to truck drivers as the result of a truck enforcement operation.

 

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