The Sunshine State Faces Yet More Pedestrian Deaths

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) December 13 2017 –
Florida faces hundreds of pedestrian deaths each year. Eight of the top ten most dangerous cities for pedestrians in the United States are located in Florida, including: Cape Coral, Palm Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville, Deltona, Lakeland and Tampa. In 2016 alone, 649 deaths were counted. Now further in 2017, there have already been 318 recorded pedestrian fatalities.

“There are far too many pedestrian deaths in Florida,” said Robert Joyce, a Tampa car accident attorney with the Joyce & Reyes law firm. “Anyone who has been injured or lost a loved one due to another’s negligence should consider pursuing compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.”

The high number of pedestrian fatalities was considered in 2014 when the Complete Streets initiative was adopted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The counties and cities have each been adopting their own methods surrounding the Complete Streets initiative for a customized approach. There has been discussion about adding more bicycle lanes, narrowing streets, increasing safety with transit connections and creating traffic circles and further obstacles to decrease the amount of jaywalkers.

However, efforts to increase safety for walkers and bicyclists are not the only factors. The main cause of these pedestrian fatalities is vehicle speed. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a study showing that 10 percent of pedestrians hit by cars going around 25 mph were killed while 90 percent of pedestrians hit by cars going approximately 60 mph were killed. Due to the intensity of the numbers, Florida is considering decreasing some areas’ speed limits from 45 to 25 mph.

Pedestrian deaths have been steadily increasing over the last decade. The United States saw 4,884 pedestrian fatalities in 2014, increasing by 19 percent from 2009.

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