From 2023 through 2025, NYPD officers listed Brakes Defective as the main contributing factor in 913 crashes in New York City. Those crashes injured 703 people and killed 1.
It was cited in 0.5% of crashes where police recorded a specific factor, ranking #21 among all factors. There were 77 injuries for every 100 crashes in these crashes, above the citywide rate of 58.
Crashes with this factor by year
Police recorded 228 crashes with this factor in 2025, down 27% from 2024. That is 71% fewer than in 2019; crash counts across the city fell sharply in 2020 and have stayed lower since. So far in 2026 (through October 31, 2026), 144 crashes have been recorded.
| Year | Crashes | Injured | Killed | Pedestrians injured | Cyclists injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | 144 | 102 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 2025 | 228 | 155 | 1 | 14 | 6 |
| 2024 | 313 | 245 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 2023 | 372 | 303 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| 2022 | 448 | 319 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| 2021 | 437 | 301 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| 2020 | 448 | 254 | 0 | 5 | 20 |
| 2019 | 795 | 424 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 2018 | 817 | 408 | 0 | 13 | 14 |
| 2017 | 798 | 416 | 0 | 20 | 16 |
| 2016 | 829 | 338 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| 2015 | 597 | 271 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
| 2014 | 499 | 221 | 0 | 18 | 8 |
| 2013 | 560 | 221 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
Who gets hurt
Pedestrians accounted for 5.8% of injuries in these crashes, cyclists for 3.9% and vehicle occupants for 90%.
| Road user | Injured | Share of injured | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 40 | 5.8% | 0 |
| Cyclists | 27 | 3.9% | 0 |
| Motorists (drivers and passengers) | 621 | 90% | 1 |
By borough
Queens had the most crashes with this factor (195).
ZIP codes where it is cited most
How to read these figures
Each figure counts crashes that an NYPD officer reported on the MV-104AN form, which is required when someone is injured or killed or when damage reaches $1,000. One crash can injure several people, so injuries can exceed crashes.
Police do not record the borough or ZIP code for every crash — about 23% of crashes citywide in the same years have no borough — so local totals are a floor, not an exact count. The contributing factor is the one listed for the first vehicle in the report.
The factor is the officer's judgment at the scene, written on the report before any investigation or court finding. It is not a legal determination of fault.
Source: NYPD crash reports published by NYC Open Data (Motor Vehicle Collisions – Crashes). Data through October 31, 2026. Figures are preliminary and may change. How we calculate these figures.