There has been a recent surge in serious and deadly car accidents on roads in central Florida, causing the Florida Highway Patrol to issue pleas for caution from all drivers.
Reports from the FHP indicate troopers investigated 35 deaths in the first two weeks of February. This was a marked increase from the same time period in 2020, when there were just 11 accident fatalities. This means traffic homicide investigators were looking at multiple fatal accidents per day, an unusually high figure for this part of the state.
Of the deaths, eight featured motorcyclists, 11 involved pedestrians and 13 were cars and other motor vehicles.
Why the increase?
FHP representatives were unable to come up with any sole overarching reason why there have been crash increases, instead pointing to a variety of factors such as blatant traffic violations and careless driving. Most of the accidents, they say, were preventable; drivers just weren’t being careful enough.
March tends to be one of the deadliest months of the year for accidents in Florida, so the surge in February was concerning. The FHP pushed for greater awareness of roadway safety in hopes that it could head off potentially large numbers in March.
According to the FHP, all drivers should pay closer attention to their driving habits, especially as more vehicles get back on the roads with the arrival of spring.
The FHP is exploring options beyond adding standard patrols to encourage people to drive safely on the state’s highways.
For more information about how you can proceed with an injury claim if you’ve been injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, contact an experienced Sarasota, FL personal injury lawyer at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez & Walsh.