South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

As we recently reported on our South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles released a press release stating that Florida has in fact experienced a decrease in the number of roadway fatalities.

Unfortunately, we pointed out that in these statistics pedestrian accidents and certain other fatalities were not noted.

The Sun Sentinel reports that the number of fatal pedestrian accidents in Florida has increased by nearly 4 percent from 2009 to 2010. There were nearly 500 pedestrian fatalities in the state during 2010 alone.

Our Boca Raton car accident attorneys understand that much more needs to be done to keep travelers safe on our roadways. Florida is still plagued with distracted, drunk and speedy drivers. While there may have been a decrease in come categories of traffic accidents, there has in fact been a significant increase in many others. This is no time to let our guard down. Safe and alert driving habits are more important now than ever.

According to USA TODAY, Florida was ranked as the deadliest state in the country for pedestrians and bicyclists. Four out of the top 10 most dangerous metro areas were in Florida. Our state has unfortunately been in the top three for this danger list every single year since 2001.

"We're trying to figure out root causes and how we can fix it," says Marianne Trussell, chief safety officer for Florida's Department of Transportation.

Many experts believe that the number of these roadway fatalities is so high because of the rapid development of the state. Florida has grown more than any other state in the country, from just under 3 million in 1950 to nearly 19 million in 2010.

Others believe that the number of fatalities has to do with the number of tourists that our state sees every year. In 2009, there were more than 80 million tourists who visited Florida.

Lastly, some even blame our beautiful weather. Since we've got rays of sunshine all year long, many set out to enjoy some fun in the sun. People are more likely to travel and to get outside when the weather allows. In Florida, that's year round.

2009-2010 Florida Highway Patrol Statistics:

-Speeding citations: Approximately 322,000.

-DUI arrests: Nearly 10,000.

-Drug-related arrests: More than 4,000.

-Seat belt citations: Nearly 140,500.

-Total Statewide roadway fatalities: More than 2,500.

-Alcohol-related roadway fatalities: More than 1,000

-Motorcyclist fatalities: More than 400.

-Pedestrian deaths: Nearly 500.

-Bicyclist fatalities: Nearly 100.

-Accident investigations: More than 217,000.

-Patrol vehicle mileage: More than 36,000,000.

-Commercial vehicle citations: Nearly 563,000.

-License revocation (DUI): More than 45,000.

-License revocation (habitual offender): Nearly 21,000.

-Fatality rate (fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled): 1.30.

As you can see from the numbers listed above, our roadways are anything but safe. Drivers are urged to be on their best behavior on our roadways to help reduce the risks of an accident with a careless driver.