An Accident Waiting to Happen
Legislator Calls for Warning Sign on Hempstead Turnpike

By Andrea Halpern

Motorists who frequently travel to Farmingdale by taking the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway to Hempstead Turnpike know that they should merge left immediately after entering the turnpike. Because of experience, they are aware that the far right lane ends a short distance past the expressway exit when one is heading east on Hempstead Turnpike. However, those who are unfamiliar with the area cannot rely on past experience to guide them through this traffic scenario.

Legislator Salvatore Pontillo has called for a traffic control device at the site, because he said drivers do not have proper warning that the lane ends. This creates a dangerous situation, he said, because when a driver finally realizes the lane is ending, he or she often reacts by hastily moving into the center lane. "I've been cut off at that point a number of times," he said, noting that cars in the center lane are often traveling at speeds of 45 to 50 miles per hour.

The lane ends where the motorist can either turn right and enter Bethpage Parkway or merge with traffic. "There are no arrows. There are no stripes on the road," Pontillo said, adding, "It doesn't say, 'must turn right.'"

There have been 17 accidents in the area where the right lane ends during the past three years, according to Nassau County Police Department records.

Pontillo has written a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), urging the agency to study the area and make it safer. "There's got to be some kind of warning, some kind of notice to the motorist," he said. Pontillo noted that there are a number of options for making the spot safer, such as painting stripes on the road, erecting a sign that directs drivers to merge left, or placing a caution sign indicating that motorists in the right lane must turn right. He added, "It think it's best for the Department of Transportation to figure that out. They have the expertise. But there needs to be some kind of warning there."

The legislator said that he has also discussed the situation with New York State Assemblyman Steve Labriola (R, 12th A.D.), because Hempstead Turnpike is a state road.

Labriola has said that, after speaking with Pontillo about the situation, he, too, has issued a request to the DOT to study the area. "We just want them to look at the situation and hopefully improve it," he said. "I would like to see an advance warning sign posted, and I would like to see better striping [on the road]," he added, noting that there is currently not adequate advance warning about the right lane ending. DOT officials could not be reached for comment about the area.

There is a yellow sign in the area indicating that the right lane ends. However, one resident of Hemlock Drive, a sidestreet near the troubled area, has said that it does not make much of a difference. "It's not very visible," said Adeline Mancini. "They should have a bigger, visible sign there," she added, noting that although residents of the neighborhood know that the right lane ends, others do not.

Mancini said that although she has never seen any accidents occur where the right lane ends, she has witnessed some close calls. "I've seen some tight spots, where people have to suddenly get over," she said.

Robert Kaufmann,who has lived on Hemlock Drive for a decade, said he has never noticed that the right lane ends suddenly before the Bethpage Parkway entrance ramp. "It very well could be. I guess I'm so used to it, living here, that I don't even think about it," he said. However, he said he has noticed many accidents occurring near the spot. "I've seen quite a few accidents there," he said, estimating that he has seen about 10 automobile collisions there during the past 10 years.

Pontillo said that his involvement with the site was prompted not by complaints from the public, but by his own concern about it. "I haven't received any direct complaints about it," he said, noting that he feels it is his duty as a public official to fix the problem before he does hear about accidents occuring there. "If we can eliminate an accident spot like that, then I think we have to do it."