With less than 48 hours to go in 2014, this year could be the safest for New York City’s pedestrians since 1910, when the city began keeping reliable records and people actually did have to worry about horse-drawn carriages. The Daily News reports that the Department of Transportation has recorded 131 pedestrian deaths, a decrease of 26 percent from last year, as well as a historic low. Overall traffic deaths (pedestrians as well as cyclists and vehicle passengers) sit at 250, which is down about 13 percent from last year. These positive numbers follow a year of traffic-related initiatives under Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan, which includes targeted strategies to reduce fatalities — including a law change lowering the city’s speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour.
