A 10-year study recently revealed Florida to be the deadliest state in the nation for pedestrians, with further research focusing on the particularly deadly region of the Emerald Coast.
The study, called “Dangerous by Design 2016,” named the most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians throughout the United States. Eight of the top 10 deadliest metro areas for pedestrians are in Florida. The list was as follows:
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
- Jacksonville
- Deltona-Daytona-Ormond Beach
- Lakeland-Winter Haven
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
- Jackson (Mississippi)
- Memphis (Tennessee)
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton
Local data is startling
The study looked at only the 104 largest metropolitan areas in the country. The Emerald Coast did not qualify based on that metric, but it still sees pedestrian accidents at high enough rates that it would rank high on the list. In fact, data revealed that the three counties making up the Emerald Coast averaged more pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people than any of the metro areas included in the study.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers occupied the top spot in the study, with 2.55 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 citizens. However, smaller areas dwarfed that figure. There were 3.97 deaths per 100,000 in Okaloosa County and 2.93 per 100,000 in Santa Rosa County. Walton County has a population of just under 66,000, but had four pedestrian deaths in 2016. That amounts to 6.07 pedestrians killed per 100,000 people.
Overall, the Emerald Coast sees one pedestrian hit by a car every three days, and one killed by a car every 21.5 days.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident caused by a negligent driver, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries. Contact a knowledgeable Bradenton auto accident lawyer at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh to learn more.