By JOSEPH KELLARD
Between the two communities the intersection of Atlantic Ave. and Lincoln Ave. in Oceanside had the most accidents with 12. Coming in second with 11 accidents was
Long Beach Rd. and Mott St. in Oceanside.
Long Beach Rd. and Daly Blvd. in Oceanside and Long Beach Rd. and Warwick Rd. in Island Park both had nine.
These intersections came in second, fourth, eighth and ninth on the precinct's list for its coverage area. Nassau Expy. and Bay Blvd. in Lawrence topped the list with 16 accidents. The Fourth Precinct covers Oceanside, Island Park, East Rockaway, Hewlett, Woodmere, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Inwood, Atlantic Beach, Point Lookout, Lido Beach, and other sections in and around these areas.
The Nassau County Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit complied the list based on reports from Jan. 1 through mid-September that were forwarded to them by the Fourth Precinct. The list does not indicate the severity of the accidents, which could range from a fender-bender to a fatality. In assessing these statistics and the status of danger these intersections pose, the volume of traffic in these areas is highly relevant, but such information is unavailable, according to police.
"It's a dangerous corner because it's so busy and people are always speeding along," said John Matty, a gas attendant at the Amaco Station at the intersection of Atlantic and Lincoln Avenues. "When the fire trucks come down the street with their sirens going, even they stop at the intersection, which should tell you something about how dangerous it can be."
Matty said he sees many near misses when large vehicles such as trucks headed eastbound on Atlantic Ave. stop at the intersection and prepare to turn northbound on to Lincoln. Cars behind these vehicles often swing around and just miss hitting cars heading westbound on Atlantic who turn south on to Lincoln. This was the case when a commercial truck tried to avoid rear ending a vechicle and swerved head first into Nathan's Restaurant on Long Beach Road.
Another hazard at the intersection is the traffic that builds up when motorist seek to get a parking spot alongside the Oceanside Post Office on Atlantic, he said.
"They double park waiting for a spot and sometimes people park right in front of the Post Office, right on the corner where they're not supposed to park, and when people come around the corner from Lincoln they don't see the double parked cars or the cars pulling out," Matty said. "That's a very dangerous situation."
From 2000 and 2001, the intersection at Long Beach Rd. and Mott St. had the most accidents in Oceanside with 43, then second on the precinct's list behind Peninsula Ave. and Mill Rd. in Hewlett during that time span.
"The lights are a major reason why there's a lot of accidents here. They're not timed correctly," said George, a AAA manager at the Mobile gas station at the intersection.
When motorists heading southbound on Long Beach Rd. turn left at the intersection on to Mott St., cars heading northbound on Long Beach Rd. have two green traffic lights in succession that allows motorists to gain speed and encourages them to beat out the second light, he said.
"If you took a demographic of the accidents that happen [at the intersection] you'd find that most of the people who are making the turn onto Mott and get hit are elderly people, and the people hitting them coming up Long Beach Rd. are in their 20s, 30s and 40s," George said, adding that the cars that get into accidents often pull into his station. "The intersection is wide here [three lanes at that section of Long Beach Rd.] and the older people drive slowly and more cautiously and the younger ones speed by."
At Long Beach Rd. and Windsor Pkwy., which is ninth on the list of most frequent accidents in the Oceanside/Island Park area, has seen seven accidents in the past nine months.
It's a horrible intersection. I can't tell you how many times there are near-misses after near-misses," said Jorge Winter, who for 22 years has owned Ocean Chemist Pharmacy at that intersection.
Within the past year, Winter heard a crash out in front of his store. There was a woman who was hit from behind and had a child in the back of the car and the car went on fire. I ran back inside to get a fire extinguisher. Luckily I put it out quickly, but she was pretty shaken up.
