Last year the city was hit with over 1,000 lawsuits and hundreds of complaints about reckless and dangerous garbage trucks. The city paid $17.6 million to settle claims about the trucks making illegal U-turns, taking out side-view mirrors and trees, and going the wrong way down one-way streets. There have been over 6,000 garbage truck accidents in the past three years, and 294 people have been injured. Sanitation spokesman Vito Turso said most of the accidents are "fender benders" that happen during snow storms, and that they are working on an accident reduction program.