Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog

On the heels of a distracted driving summit aimed at mapping legislative, law enforcement and awareness campaigns that will drive down the exploding number of distracted-driving related car accidents nationwide, Sect. Ray LaHood released two glowing NHTSA reports tracking ongoing seat-belt usage and minimum age drinking law efforts.

Our Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyers frequently report on a host of behind-the-wheel issues – from impaired driving to distracted driving to maintenance and child passenger safety – facing Florida drivers on our South Florida Injury Lawyers blog. Regarding seat belt and child restraint use, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that 12,713 lives were saved by simply buckling up in 2009 and 309 toddlers were spared thanks to proper child restraint use. Since 2005, the NHTSA estimates that the increase in seat-belt use has saved more than 72,000 lives. The recent report also estimates that more than 600 lives were spared in 2009 through the enactment and enforcement of minimum drinking age laws.

As for distracted driving, 2009 NHTSA statistics alone are staggering. Car accident crash rates have steadily declined since 2005, when the NHTSA reported 39,252 crashes that claimed 43,510 lives to 2009, when the NHTSA logged 30,797 reported crashes that led to 33,808 fatalities. Meanwhile, the number of distraction-related car accidents and fatalities has risen from 10 to 16 percent of those overall numbers. In 2005, 4,026 distraction-related car accidents were reported, causing 4,472 fatalities. By 2009, those numbers had jumped to 4,898 and 5,474, respectively.

While NHTSA Administrator David Strickland admitted the trends reflecting more ubiquitous seat-belt use and fewer cases of underage drinking and driving are impressive, his goal remains at 100 percent compliance. As for the issue of distracted driving, he said the mission of his office is to take action “on a number of fronts to address the epidemic of distracted driving in America. With the help of experts, policymakers, and safety advocates… we are going to do everything we can to put an end to distracted driving and save lives.”

Sometimes seat belts save lives. Sometimes, they don't. But what is clear is that speeding, drunk driving and distracted driving remain the three leading causes of serious and fatal traffic accidents. Hiring an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer or wrongful death attorney can help determine the cause of your accident and can assist in recovering the compensation you deserve.

Continue reading " Seat belts, minimum drinking ages reduce risk of serious or fatal injuries in Fort Lauderdale car accidents " »

According to the National Traffic Safety Board, our youngest travelers face the greatest risk of injury or death if involved in a car accident in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach or elsewhere in South Florida.

Florida earned the NTSB's “most lenient” ranking because State law only requires child safety seats for children aged 3 or younger. NTSB standards recommend state child restraint laws for children up to age 8.

To back up this requirement, the NTSB reports that for children ages 4 to 8, using a booster seat and seat belt combination reduces their risk of car accident injury by 59 percent. South Florida car accident attorneys know that properly installed car seats and booster seats used in conjunction with safety belts save countless lives. Because of this simple truth, we support the NHTSA’s annual Child Passenger Safety Week efforts and provide a link to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s best booster ranking system.

Safe Kids USA, is a network of more than 600 organizations and coalitions across the U.S. that work together to raise awareness of child safety issues and prevent unintentional injury among children under age 14. Regarding car seats, booster seats and child safety restraints, Safe Kids USA has found:

~ Just shy of 1000 children under age 14 are killed each year in car accidents.

~ If parents and caregivers buckle up, so do child passengers.

~ Children using properly installed and appropriate child restraints are 80 percent less likely to sustain a fatal injury in a car crash than children who are not.

~ In 2005 alone, almost 700 children killed in car accidents were not using proper child restraints.

~ Children prematurely using safety belts alone are four times more likely to sustain serious head injury than those using seat belts in tandem with child safety seats or child booster seats.

Continue reading " Government says Florida has nation's most lenient child passenger safety laws; children at increased risk of injury in Fort Lauderdale car accidents " »

As we mentioned in an earlier post to our South Florida Injury Lawyers blog, 2009 was a banner year for safe driving across the country. The number of people killed in fatal car accidents dropped to its lowest since 1950, reaching almost a 10 percent decline in car accidents fatalities compared to 2008. Motorists injured in car accidents are down as well.

In fact, across the board, riding in or driving a vehicle – four wheeled or two wheeled, motorized or not – even walking on or near roadways in the U.S. is the safest it has ever been, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports. In Florida alone, the number of fatal Florida car accidents has dropped more than anywhere else in the country, reporting 422 fewer fatalities in 2009 than in 2008. Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Georgia also saw more than 200 fewer fatalities. Overall, just 9 states saw the number of fatal car accidents go up.

However, Florida remains one of the nation's three deadliest states, along with Texas and California. And motorists are more at risk of a serious or fatal car accidents in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Miami than anywhere else in the state.

Throw alcohol into the mix, and again, numbers are down in 33 states and Puerto Rico. Fatal car accidents in which alcohol played a factor declined by 7.4 percent, claiming 10,839 lives in 2009 – 872 fewer than in 2008.

Among the findings:
Total Traffic Fatalities: 33,808 -- down 9.7 percent from 37,423
Passenger Vehicles: 23,382 -- down 8.2 percent from 25,462
Large Trucks: 503 -- down 26 percent from 682
Motorcycles: 4,462 -- down 16 percent from 5,312
Pedestrians: 4,092 -- down 7.3 percent from 4,414
Bicyclists: 150 -- down 12 percent from 188

Injuries were also down across the board:
Total Injuries: 2.217 million -- down 5.5 percent from 2.346 million
Passenger Vehicles: 1.976 million -- down 4.6 percent from 2.072 million
Large Trucks: 17,000 -- down 26 percent from 23,000
Motorcycles: 90,000 -- down 6.3 percent from 96,000
Pedestrians: 59,000 -- down 14 percent from 69,000
Bicyclists: 51,000 -- down 1.9 percent from 52,000

Continue reading " Florida motorists less likely to be involved in pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents " »

Despite an increase in road travel, in 2009 the number of fatal car accidents nationwide dropped to their lowest number since 1950 and car accident injuries also fell to lowest rates ever recorded the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports.

There were 442 fewer fatal Florida car accidents and Texas saw 405 fewer fatal car crashes. Overall, 41 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico each experienced a drop in fatalities. In tandem with the drop in fatal car accidents and fewer injuries, the number of alcohol-related car accident deaths dropped more than 7 percent.

The NHTSA Administrator David Strickland attributes much of the decline to seat belt use and aggressive anti-drunk driving enforcement campaigns. “But we are still losing more than 30,000 lives a year on our highways, and about a third of these involve drunk driving. We will continue to work with our state partners to strictly enforce both seat belt use and anti-drunk driving laws across this nation, every day and every night.”

According to the NHTSA, motorcyclist fatalities broke a decade-long increase in fatal crashes with a 24 percent decline and now account for 13 percent of total vehicle-related fatalities. Passenger car, light truck and large-truck vehicles also each saw significant drops.

Still, despite the overall downward trend, car accidents remain the leading cause of death for Americans aged 3-34, and more drivers and passengers need to buckle up. More than half of those killed in fatal car accidents were not wearing a seat belt.

Continue reading " Fatalities and injury crashes drop nationwide, but biggest dip is in fatal car accidents in Florida " »

Car accidents in Port St. Lucie are less likely to occur than any other major city in Florida, while car accidents in Fort Lauderdale and Miami are among the state's most frequent, according to a report released by Allstate Insurance.

The list, which compares accident rates in nearly 200 cities with a population of more than 100,000, found the chance of an accident varies widely depending on where in Florida you reside. However, when it comes to Florida, one thing is certain: No place is safe. A total of 2.563 people were killed on Florida roads last year, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, making it the deadliest state in the nation after California and Texas.

The report ranked Fort Collins, Colorado as the safest city in the nation with an average of 14.5 years between crashes for any given motorist. Washington, D.C. was the nation's most dangerous city, with motorists reporting crashes every 5.1 years.

Florida ranged from a best of 10.9 years for motorists in Port St. Lucie and Cape Coral, to a worse of 7.2 years in Hialeah and 7.5 years in Miami.

"Human error is the biggest cause of accidents. It is vital for us to educate drivers across the country on the importance of being tolerant and attentive behind the wheel," said Mike Roche of Allstate.

30) Port St. Lucie - 10.9 years
33) Cape Coral - 10.9 years
69) Jacksonville - 9.9 years
80) St. Petersburg - 9.7 years
84) Tallahassee - 9.7 years
(123) Fort Lauderdale - 8.8 years
(145) Orlando - 8.2 years
(147) Hollywood - 8.1 years
(154) Tampa - 7.9 years
(171) Miami 7.5 years
(180) Hialeah 7.2 years

Continue reading " From Port St. Lucie to Fort Lauderdale, your risk of a car accident depends on where you live " »