Orlando Named Country’s Most Dangerous City for Pedestrians

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on May 23, 2011

A recent survey confirmed a sad fact that Orlando personal injury lawyers and area residents have known for a long time; Orlando is the country’s most dangerous city for pedestrians. From 2000 to 2009, 557 people were struck and killed in pedestrian accidents in the Orlando/Kissimmee metro area, a frightening number that Central Floridians are reminded of far too often. The survey was conducted by Transportation for America, and the group cited the causes of our city’s ignominious ranking as high vehicular traffic, unsafe existing sidewalks and a lack of sidewalks in the city’s infrastructure. Most of our area was designed specifically to accommodate motorized vehicles, not pedestrians, an important factor that needs to be addressed in the short term to make our area safer for pedestrians.

Orlando was not the only Florida city with a serious pedestrian accident problem. Tampa and Jacksonville came in second and third respectively, illustrating a similar lack of safe places for people to walk. Two years ago, Transportation for America conducted a similar survey that also determined that Orlando is the most dangerous place for pedestrians in the country. Our area averages a shocking three pedestrian accident fatalities per every 100,000 residents each year. In addition to unsafe and nonexistent sidewalks, the survey found that poor road planning was also a contributing factor to our problems. They cited roads that were designed to increase the speed of vehicles and facilitate traffic as another threat to pedestrian safety.

The survey did not say it, but if Orlando leads the country in pedestrian accident fatalities, it also leads the nation in people injured in pedestrian accidents. Since people have nothing to protect themselves from the trauma of being struck by a vehicle weighing thousands of pounds, the injuries tend to be severe and require weeks, months and sometimes a lifetime of rehabilitation.

It goes without saying that hospital bills can quickly climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which adds emotional and financial trauma to the already considerable physical trauma of being struck by a vehicle. Here in Central Florida, many pedestrian accident victims and their families rely on an Orlando personal injury attorney with a proven record of success helping people receive the compensation they deserve. If you or a close family member has been injured in a pedestrian accident and you have questions about your rights and legal options, call James O. Cunningham today at 888-425-2004 or 407-425-2000 to schedule a free consultation. He has been helping injured people since 1977 and handles each case personally. Call today, and put his knowledge and experience to work helping you and your family.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.