Gillen Demands Answers After Bombshell Newsday Investigation on Long Island’s Road Safety Crisis; Sends Letter to Department of Transportation Calling for Immediate Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Laura Gillen (NY-04), a Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, sent the following letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calling for immediate action on the unacceptable rise in traffic fatalities on Long Island and urging the Department to conduct an investigation issuing recommendations to keep drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safe on our roads.

Gillen’s correspondence comes after a bombshell Newsday report revealed that 2,100 people were killed and 16,000 people were seriously hurt on Long Island’s roads from 2014-2023. Gillen called for DOT action, stating in part:  

“I write to urge you to take immediate action to counteract the alarming, unacceptable increase in fatal traffic crashes on Long Island. A major investigation by Newsday revealed a devastating surge of roadway fatalities and collisions on dangerous roads on Long Island that demands swift immediate federal attention and intervention. For this reason I request the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) conduct an immediate investigation into this deadly surge and outline a plan of action to help prevent more tragedies,” Gillen wrote in her letter to Secretary Duffy. “As Congress considers a new Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, I urge you to provide specific recommendations to Congress on any additional funding or authority the Department needs to improve our roadways and increase safety for drivers and pedestrians. I look forward to working with you and my fellow members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to support these efforts.”

Since taking office, Gillen has led the charge to address Long Island’s road safety crisis, using her role on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to call for action to prevent drunk driving-related accidents and to examine the risk that Long Island’s crumbling, unsafe roads pose to drivers, truckers, and roadside emergency workers.

Newsday’s reporting revealed a number of troubling statistics:

• Traffic crashes killed more than 2,100 people across Long Island over the decade ending in 2023 according to official data compiled by the Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.
• Another 16,000 victims suffered severe injuries, meaning they were unable to leave the scene without assistance. Some had life-altering skull fractures, internal injuries, broken or distorted limbs, unconsciousness, severe lacerations or burns.
• Traffic crashes were the leading cause of accidental death among young people ages 5-19 on Long Island from 2018 to 2023, and they were the second-leading cause among all Long Islanders under 80 after drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
• One way that public health specialists think about the impact is by calculating "potential years of life lost," assuming an average life span of 75 years. By that metric, Long Island lost at least 5,800 years of life just in 2023.
• In monetary terms, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates New Yorkers paid $23.6 billion in medical and legal bills, lost productivity, property damage and other crash-associated expenses in 2019. Those not directly involved in crashes paid roughly three-quarters of those costs, primarily through higher insurance premiums, taxes, congestion-related costs and other impacts, according to the NHTSA.

Read the full text of the letter HERE and below.

The Honorable Sean Duffy
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Duffy:

I write to urge you to take immediate action to counteract the alarming, unacceptable increase in fatal traffic crashes on Long Island. A major investigation by Newsday revealed a devastating surge of roadway fatalities and collisions on dangerous roads on Long Island that demands swift immediate federal attention and intervention. For this reason I request I the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) conduct an immediate investigation into this deadly surge and outline a plan of action to help prevent more tragedies.

According to Newsday’s report, more than 2,100 people have been killed and 16,000 have been severely injured in traffic accidents on Long Island’s dangerous roads over the past ten years. Traffic crashes are the single leading cause of accidental death among young people on Long Island, and the second-leading cause for all residents under the age of eighty. Every seven minutes on average, a serious traffic accident happens on Long Island. The failure to secure our roads has led to thousands of lives being cut short, families being ripped apart, and a terrible void left in too many communities.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, New Yorkers pay staggering costs for these accidents. New Yorkers paid more than $23 billion in medical and legal bills, lost productivity, property damage, and associated expenses in 2019. In addition, crashes lead to higher insurance premiums, taxes, and increased congestion on our roads. Congress and DOT have taken action to improve roadway safety in recent years. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in 2021, appropriated $5 billion in discretionary funding to help prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. To date, hundreds of projects across the country have been funded through this crucial investment. However, we must do more to invest in infrastructure upgrades, creative road-planning, and new technologies to help save lives.

As Congress considers a new Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, I urge you to provide specific recommendations to Congress on any additional funding or authority the Department needs to improve our roadways and increase safety for drivers and pedestrians. I look forward to working with you and my fellow members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to support these efforts.

Thank you for your attention to the urgent crisis on our roads on Long Island, and I look forward to your prompt reply.

Regards,

Laura A. Gillen
Member of Congress