Florida Pedestrians at Risk
Confirming what many people who walk on the road anywhere in Florida already knew about the dangers of being a pedestrian, an annual report released by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) examining pedestrian safety in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The GHSA examined traffic safety statistics, and specifically, the issue of pedestrian safety across the country, and confirmed the sad truth of how dangerous it is for pedestrians in Florida. According to the report, Florida continues to be one of the most dangerous states in the nation for pedestrians. The report released by the GHSA studied preliminary data from the first half of 2017. It concluded the number of nationwide pedestrian fatalities increased by 27 percent between 2007 and 2016, while the number of all other traffic-related deaths decreased by 14 percent over the same period. This is a sad trend that was similarly mirrored in data from the Sunshine State. The group’s review of the data also showed a nationwide increase in the proportion of traffic fatalities that were pedestrian deaths; this statistic has continued to accelerate over the past ten years, with 11 percent of the traffic-related fatalities in 2007 having been pedestrians while 16 percent of the traffic-related fatalities in 2016 were pedestrian deaths. This was the highest proportion of all traffic-related deaths that were pedestrian fatalities in 33 years (since 1983) according to the survey’s author.
An Alarming Number of Florida Pedestrian Deaths Yet Again in 2017
According to the GHSA report, Florida ranked second among the 50 states in pedestrian deaths and fifth when the results were adjusted for the various states’ populations. Only California, which is far larger than Florida at nearly double the Sunshine State’s population, had more pedestrians killed than Florida (352 in California compared with Florida’s 303). This was an increase of 1.3 percent for Florida compared with the 299 fatalities in the first half of 2016 in the state. However, Florida is not just a dangerous place for pedestrians in terms of the absolute numbers of pedestrians killed by motor vehicles every year, which is a function of the size of the Sunshine State’s population, but it had the fifth highest fatality rate out of all 50 states, which measures the number of pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people. This is an easier way to compare how dangerous a heavily populated state like Florida is when compared with a less densely populated state like Montana. Out of all 50 states, only Arizona, New Mexico, Delaware and Louisiana had higher pedestrian fatality rates than the Sunshine State. In addition, Florida had two of the ten metropolitan areas with the highest number of pedestrian fatalities in the country in the first half of 2017: Miami-Dade County with 83 deaths and Fort Lauderdale-Broward County with 67. Any way you slice it, what this report says is that it is extremely dangerous to be a pedestrian in the state of Florida, whether you look at either the total number of individuals killed by cars while out walking every year or the chances that a given individual who is out walking on the road in the Sunshine State will be killed by a motor vehicle.
Contact the Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A
As explained above, based on the GHSA’s survey of pedestrian fatalities throughout the country in the first half of 2017, Florida is one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians. At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A. our experienced personal injury attorneys have more than 150 years of combined legal practice representing victims of pedestrian accidents and other types of motor vehicle accidents in Florida. We can confirm that, sadly, we have experienced this to be true firsthand as well; Florida is simply a dangerous place for pedestrians. However, if you are a pedestrian who has been injured as a result of the actions of a Florida motorist, you have the right under Florida law to receive compensation for your injuries, including the payment for any medical treatment you need to undergo as a result of those injuries, compensation for your pain and suffering as a result of those injuries, and other damages. Therefore, if you, a family member, or a loved one have been injured or killed by a motor vehicle while out walking on a Florida road, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A today at 877-694-6079 or contact@schwedlawfirm.com for a free consultation.