County Crash Data for Tampa Bay Area Reveals Areas of Concern

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) August 18, 2015 – Members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) of Pinellas County discussed the organization’s 2014 Crash Data Report at a recent meeting.

The crash report shows important trends in traffic accidents in the Tampa Bay area. Distracted driving, teen drivers and bicycle and pedestrian accidents are all areas of concern identified in the report.

“To help prevent deaths and serious injuries from traffic accidents, it is important to identify problem areas,” said Robert Joyce, a car accident attorney with the Tampa firm of Joyce & Reyes. “Some drivers, such as teens, impaired drivers and distracted drivers, are more prone to be involved in accidents. Some people, such as bicyclists and pedestrians, are more vulnerable.”

The data in the crash report showed a sharp increase in accidents related to distracted driving. Such crashes rose by 77 percent from 2011 to 2013. Cell phone use was identified as the cause of many of the distracted driving-related collisions; however, perhaps surprisingly, police identified simple inattention as the most prevalent cause of such accidents.

The high crash totals for teenage drivers were another area of concern. The number of collisions involving teens increased from 1,616 in 2011 to 2,605 in 2013, a 61 percent increase. Julie Bujalski, the mayor of Dunedin, said that the MPO should be working with schools and the sheriff to make driver education more prevalent.

The Tampa Bay area continues to be very dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists. Whit Blanton, the executive director of the MPO, said that the problem was particularly bad in Pinellas County. MPO board members discussed possible solutions, which included lowering speed limits and taking action to improve the operation of the area’s most dangerous intersections.

Learn more at http://www.joyceandreyespa.com Joyce and Reyes Law Firm, P.A. 307 S Hyde Park Ave Tampa, FL 33606 Call: 813.251.2007