Traffic Deaths Declining In NYC

Declining crime isn’t the only way New York City is becoming safer – new statistics show traffic deaths have hit a historic low, too.

Data released Tuesday show car wrecks killed 271 people in the city last year. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that’s the fewest since record-keeping began in 1910.

The numbers of pedestrians and auto drivers and passengers killed plummeted by more than 18 percent last year, compared to 2006. But last year’s traffic crashes killed more bicyclists _ 23, up from 18 the year before.

The city recorded fewer than 500 homicides last year, marking the lowest number in at least 44 years. Crime has plunged since 1990, when an all-time high of 2,224 homicides made New York the murder capital of the nation.