This is why Florida is the most dangerous state to walk
Daytona Beach, FL – A Daytona Beach Shores couple died when they were hit by an SUV in St Johns County on Friday night. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the man and woman, both 70, were crossing State Road A1A near Briarwood when they were struck by an SUV driven by a 64-year-old woman from Gautier, Missouri. The couple was transported to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.
This latest tragedy only comes to prove the conclusions of a 2021 study on pedestrian safety. The “Dangerous by Design” report, commissioned by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition, found that the number of pedestrian fatalities has been rising nearly everywhere across the US, but the situation is by far worse in the Sunshine State. Florida ranked first as the most dangerous state to walk, with the metro area of Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach listed as the fifth worst in the nation. Overall, cities in Volusia County had the highest average number of pedestrian fatalities, 3.6 per 100,000 population, during the decade from 2010 to 2019. In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic started the number of pedestrian fatalities kept rising despite significantly low traffic.
Dangerous by design….
At the time the report was released, Florida Department of Transportation officials challenged the results. Numbers don’t lie, though, and “by any available measure the state is going in the wrong direction,” Beth Osborne, Smart Growth America’s vice president of transportation said. According to Osborne, the main reason so many pedestrians and bicyclists are killed in Florida is that the roads were designed with only motorists in mind. The goal was to help motorists move from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible, ignoring the needs of other road users.
“It’s hard to take seriously the claim that ‘safety is at the heart of all that we do’ when the state continues to invest millions of dollars in the same wide, high-speed, multi-lane arterials that are designed for speed and create danger, particularly for those outside of a car,” Osborne pointed out.
…. And mentality
“Design has a huge impact on behavior, often more of an impact than speed limits, because we only see speed limits from time to time, but the design is all around us all the time,” Osborne added. With wide straight roads at their disposal, motorists feel like they own the road. They feel encouraged to travel at high speed, which greatly increases the risks of an accident. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk.
How can a pedestrian recover damages for an accident in Florida
As Florida is a no-fault state, all motorists are required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP). If you have PIP, you can use it to recover damages even if you were not driving, but walking at the time you were injured. Also, if you don’t have insurance, you can claim damages against another family member’s PIP if they live in the same household.
Unfortunately, pedestrian accidents often result in serious, life-altering injuries and your PIP won’t probably be enough to cover your losses. This is when you should seek advice from an experienced Daytona Beach accident lawyer. You may use your PIP to cover your immediate medical bills and sue the driver at fault for the rest of your damages, including your pain and suffering.
Keep in mind that when you sue someone, you must step outside the no-fault system. Your Florida accident lawyers will have to prove that the driver that struck you was guilty of negligence. Such claims are filed under the comparative negligence rule. This means that if you were somewhat at fault for the accident, your damages will be reduced by a percentage corresponding to your share of the blame.
If you were recently injured in a car accident in the Daytona Beach area, schedule a free consultation with an experienced lawyer at Pappas & Russell PA, and let them help you with your claim.
Contact info:
213 Silver Beach Avenue
Daytona Beach, Florida 32118
Phone: (386) 254-2941
