Florida Accident Attorney Blog

How safe do you feel driving in South Florida? Do you feel safer, for example, leisurely driving through West Palm Beach, Florida and Palm Beach County as compared to navigating the congested city streets of Miami or snaking your way through Miami Dade County?

Earlier this week, we reported on how Florida traffic accident deaths have declined in recent years, despite increases in Florida's population. However Florida's number of auto crash fatalities (2,558 deaths in 2009) is still the third-highest in the country (with California and Texas in the number one and two spots, respectively, for most traffic accident deaths in 2009). (Source: Traffic Safety Facts: Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes, NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Aug. 2010.)

Automobile accident deaths have been declining in recent years across the USA. But traffic safety advocates, including those here in Florida, say we still have a long ways to go to make driving and roads and highways safer. A recent report by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles details traffic fatality trends in our state, including by county. Traffic accident fatalities in South Florida counties in 2009 were as follows (with statewide fatality rates noted in counties that experienced the highest number of deaths):

Brevard County: 54
Broward County: 189 (Rate: 10.8 deaths per 100,000 people)
Collier County: 39
Hendry County: 16
Lee County: 80
Miami-Dade County: 260 (Rate: 10.5 deaths per 100,000)
Palm Beach County: 151 (Rate: 11.7 deaths per 100,000)

Not surprisingly, the counties with the largest populations have the highest number of traffic accident fatalities. Miami Dade County, Florida experienced the greatest number of traffic deaths in Florida in 2009, though that number is down from 336 fatalities in the county in 2005. Broward County experienced fewer auto accident deaths than Miami-Dade County, however the fatality rate per 100,000 people was slightly higher. Deaths were lower but the rate was even higher in Palm Beach County, with 11.7 deaths per one-hundred thousand people.

However, as West Palm Beach accident injury lawyers know too well from working with clients -- Florida traffic crash death statistics don't truly tell the human side of the story. Every number is a person -- a beloved family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker -- whose life was ended in a Florida motor vehicle accident.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles report also sheds light on some of the circumstances surrounding fatal traffic accidents in Fla. counties. For example…

> Do you get nervous driving on two-lane highways, particularly undivided highways? Your fears are justified. Nearly 38% of all fatal traffic accidents in Florida occurred on two-lane highways. 20% happened on six-lane highways and 33% on four-lane highways.

> Drunk driving is a factor in nearly 40 percent of fatal car crashes in Florida.

> Seat belts save lives! The Florida Dept. of Highway Safety reports that in 2009 -- 1,555 traffic deaths of drivers and passengers occurred in Florida vehicles equipped with seat belts. Of that number… 59% or 917 people were not wearing seatbelts.

Florida Traffic Safety Facts : Fatalities 2010 (PDF)
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Oct. 2010

Related Web Resource:

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (homepage)

Related West Palm Beach Injury Attorney articles:

Florida Has Third Highest Number of Traffic Fatalities in the Nation (June 10, 2011)

Going Nowhere Fast : Miami, Florida Traffic Congestion Among Worst in the U.S.A. (June 7, 2011)