Harding Mazzotti Launches Trailblazing AI Tool ‘Hardi’ to Identify New York’s Most Dangerous Intersections

Central Avenue Home to 6 of Capital Region’s 15 Most Dangerous Intersections

ALBANY, NY, UNITED STATES, September 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Personal injury law firm Harding Mazzotti today unveiled a comprehensive motor vehicle crash analysis alongside Hardi, a first-of-its-kind, free AI tool designed to map New York State’s most dangerous intersections. Known for its "Heavy Hitters" advocacy, the firm created the tool to uncover underlying collision patterns and empower the public with searchable safety data to increase local road awareness and safety.

In the course of representing its thousands of clients involved in motor vehicle accidents over the years, the attorneys at Harding Mazzotti recognized what appeared to be patterns involving the frequency and location of intersection accidents. In response to these dangerous trends, the firm scoured and aggregated publicly available data with the goal of developing Hardi a powerful AI analysis tool to identify intersection accident patterns, improve motorist safety, and ultimately help reduce serious injuries and death.

Based on 390,334 police-reported crashes filed with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles in 2023, the analysis and subsequent report found that New York roads produce a crash every 82 seconds, resulting in more than 123,000 injuries and over 1,100 deaths in a single year.

In Albany, six of the fifteen most dangerous intersections identified sit along a single corridor, Central Avenue, with Central Avenue and the Route 5 On-Ramp servicing I-87 in Colonie topping the region's list. Similar concentrations emerged in Buffalo along Humboldt Parkway, in Rochester at Driving Park Avenue and Lake Avenue, and in Syracuse at Carrier Circle.

“We are releasing this data to raise awareness because residents deserve to know which intersections in their own communities carry the greatest risk, and because that knowledge is the first step in lowering the number of avoidable injuries and deaths that frequently result from poor awareness of driving conditions, lack of driver focus, fatigue, and unfortunately impaired driving.” said Paul Harding, managing partner of Harding Mazzotti. “As far as we are aware, Harding Mazzotti is the first law firm in the nation to undertake such a far-reaching data capture of collision information to develop a public AI chat tool like Hardi.”

The underlying data powering Hardi reveals a crisis that is far more predictable, and preventable, than most drivers realize. Nearly 75% of crashes occurred on dry pavement, in clear weather, and during daylight, undercutting the assumption that winter weather is the state's primary road hazard. October and November, not January or February, were the two deadliest months for crashes statewide. The leading contributing factors were overwhelmingly behavioral: tailgating, failure to yield, and driver inattention alone accounted for nearly 99,000 crashes, or roughly one in four incidents across New York.

Harding continued, “AI is a powerful tool that helps us analyze important data and identify the root causes of accidents that exact a heavy toll on motorists, their loved ones, and the entire community. And we are pleased to offer Hardi free to the public, empowering them to interact with this data to help avoid dangerous intersections and driving conditions as we work together to make our roads safer.”

Beyond location, the analysis uncovered striking patterns in crash timing. Although Friday is the busiest day for crashes overall, Saturday and Sunday together account for 34% of all weekly fatalities despite producing just 25% of weekly crash volume. Darkness compounds the risk: while nearly two-thirds of crashes occur in daylight, the hours between 6:00 p.m. and midnight produce a disproportionately higher share of fatalities per crash. Together, the findings point to fatigue, alcohol involvement, and reduced visibility as factors that turn otherwise survivable crashes fatal.

"These numbers are more than statistics - they represent our neighbors, our family members, and our clients," said Harding. "For more than two decades, our firm has stood up for people who have been seriously hurt because of someone else's negligence on New York's roads, and our database and Hardi AI tool are natural extensions of our ongoing mission to protect the public. This analysis confirms what we see every day in our casework: these crashes are often the result of preventable human choices - tailgating, failing to yield, driving distracted - happening at specific, identifiable locations across our communities and state."

While New York City accounted for the highest concentration of danger, with the 10 most dangerous intersections in the state, Harding Mazzotti's analysis extended well beyond the metropolitan area, producing dedicated regional studies for Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany/Capital Region, Binghamton, Utica, Elmira, Plattsburgh, and Watertown. These regional breakdowns serve as the informational backbone of Hardi - empowering drivers, pedestrians, and community leaders to analyze local data and address the specific intersections in their community that carry the greatest risk.

Those seeking to learn their legal rights following a crash at one of the intersections identified, are encouraged to contact Harding Mazzotti to learn about the legal options available to them.

About Harding Mazzotti Law Firm Harding Mazzotti, LLP is a legal practice serving clients in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts with a strong focus on personal injury, negligence, and wrongful death cases. The firm is committed to providing compassionate and experienced legal counsel while advocating for the rights of injured individuals and their families.

Michael Bucci
Harding Mazzotti, LLP
+1 518-423-9215
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