Legal news for Florida personal injury attorneys. Florida was deemed the most dangerous state for pedestrians.
Traffic fatality statistics show increased pedestrian involvement in Florida.
According to “Dangerous by Design”, a recent study conducted by Transportation for America (TFA), Florida has seemingly been declared the most dangerous state for pedestrians with an unfortunate total of 490 pedestrian fatalities last year.
By observing the extensive traffic fatality statistics collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www.NHTSA.gov) through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), it is quite simple to understand how serious this problem has become. For instance, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville hold the top four spots on a list of the deadliest pedestrian areas in the country. With 400 fatal pedestrian-vehicle collisions a month, and a total of 76,000 throughout the entire nation since 1994, this public safety issue is clearly not confined to the state of Florida.
Transportation for America reportedly claimed that suburban sprawl is one of the main reasons for the shockingly high level of pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. annually. According to this particular study, although 13% of the traffic related deaths in the United States consist of pedestrians and cyclists, only 1.5% of federal transportation safety spending is invested in projects that could very likely create a substantially safer setting for these individuals. The lack of public transportation in these “danger zones” is becoming increasingly apparent in correlation with the subject matter of this study as well.
With organizations such as the Complete Streets Act, whose co-sponsors include Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, there seems to be an increased sense of awareness about how to better prevent such traffic related fatalities.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan
