What Are the Top Causes of Accidents in Florida?

Boca Raton Accident and Injury Lawyers

Florida’s roads are among the busiest in the nation, with drivers of motor vehicles of all kinds aiming to get to their destinations as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this is a recipe for the high number of car accidents and truck accidents, motorcycle and other accidents that cause serious property damage, grievous injury and even death.

The linked article presents the top five driving habits that lead to car accidents on Florida’s roads. As an update to the article, it is now illegal to text and drive in Florida. Please don’t text while driving and we will all be that much safer.

The Top Five Causes of Motor Vehicle Accidents in Florida Are:

• Intoxicated Driving: Driving Under the Influence (DUI Driving) causes about 1/3 of the road accident deaths in the US each year. Drivers under the influence of alcohol, illicit or even certain prescription drugs lose manual, visual & cognitive function, more easily leading to horrific accidents with tragic consequences.

DUI drivers/Drunk drivers also have a high incidence of running traffic signals, driving at high speeds and making sudden or erratic lane changes, all or any of which set the stage for accidents with other vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists. Do not ever drive when impaired by alcohol or any chemical or pharmaceutical substance.

• Distracted Driving: Distracted driving takes many forms, including talking or texting while driving, turning to interact with passengers in the back seat, adjusting radios, GPS or air conditioners. Even such momentary distractions as those can be enough to cause serious accidents, leading to devastating injury and fatalities.
• Failure to Use Turn Signals: Such a simple act as remembering to use your blinkers can help avoid road accidents caused by sudden lane changes or turns, especially side impact crashes and rear end collisions.

Cars, trucks, buses, SUVs & other motor vehicles that fail to use their turn signals increase the possibility of collisions with motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians, who have few physical protections versus those much larger vehicles and often suffer catastrophic injuries as a result.

• Speeding: Speed limit laws exist for a very good reason: Speed Kills. The chances of causing an accident at high speed are greatly increased due to reduced response times to fully stop your vehicle, inability to respond to adverse road conditions or otherwise avoid a collision.

Even if a high-speed driver manages to avoid a collision with another vehicle, they frequently lose control of their vehicle and crash into fixed objects such as light posts, trees, road medians, even roadside buildings, often with tragic results. Plainly put, in high-speed accidents the odds for severe vehicle damage, grievous, compound injuries and multiple fatalities are vastly increased.

• Failure to Yield Right of Way: There is probably never a time when we are driving and trying to reach our destination that we are not in a hurry. However, let’s not allow feeling rushed to translate into breaking basic rules of the road and cause easily avoidable, yet often devastating accidents from happening. Obey all stop signs, yield signs and traffic signals. Allow pedestrians to cross safely. Don’t try to “beat” oncoming traffic when making a left turn. Make “right on red” only when and where permitted and when conditions are safe for you, other drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

https://www.idrivesafely.com/defensive-driving/trending/top-5-driving-habits-cause-accidents-florida

Closer to home, an apparent side effect of the COVID pandemic can be seen on our roads: Palm Beach County motor vehicle accidents were up 23% in 2021 versus 2020. Among the most common causes are speeding, tailgating, failure to obey traffic regulations & aggressive, reckless driving in general. These accidents can be caused by cars, trucks, motorcycles, SUVs, buses, vans & frequently involve multiple vehicles, injuries & fatalities.

Practice safe, defensive driving:

* Do not speed, tailgate or make sudden lane changes

* Obey all road rules & signage

* Do not drive when you are drowsy or impaired

* Do not use your cell phone while driving and make a conscious effort to avoid any distractions while you are behind the wheel.

At Boca Injury Law, our highly skilled attorneys offer their 45+ yrs combined legal experience to clients who have been injured, suffered property damage or even lost their lives in any type of motor vehicle accident.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury or loss of life as the result of a car, truck, motorcycle or any other type of motor vehicle-related accident, please contact our firm today at 561 609 3190 or by submitting our online Contact Form for the highly skilled, compassionate & personalized legal assistance you need, to aggressively pursue the justice and compensation you deserve.

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