Recently released data indicates that Florida drivers may engage in unsafe driving practices more often than their counterparts in other states. The study, in which online insurance marketplace Everquote looked at statistics across the country, tracked behaviors like speeding, braking, cell phone use and acceleration.
The company conducted the research between April 2016 and March 2017. It discovered that Florida drivers ranked second in the nation for cell phone use behind the wheel, trailing Louisiana by a narrow margin. Florida also has a high rate of pedestrian fatalities, perhaps in part due to the state’s car-centric culture.
Although motorists in Florida and the southern U.S. were more likely to engage in distracted driving, northeasterners seem to have the greatest propensity to speed. Midwesterners, the study found, were the safest drivers in the nation on average.
A look at dangerous driving habits
Distracted driving, which may include using a mobile device, eating or talking with passengers, continues to be a national problem, claiming 3,477 lives in 2015 alone. Texting while driving is illegal in Florida, although it remains a secondary offense. This means that law enforcement officers cannot pull over someone just because they are using a mobile device — the driver must have committed another traffic offense, as well.
State lawmakers are now looking at possible measures that would elevate texting while driving to a primary offense, however.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident you believe was due to distracted driving or another form of negligence, you may need to take legal action. Learn more about your options by consulting a knowledgeable Bradenton personal injury attorney at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh.