Nine Florida Cities on Top 15 List for Deadliest in Country for Pedestrians

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on March 27, 2019

A recent article published on the popular website Business Insider offered some chilling statistics regarding the rate of pedestrian accidents and deaths throughout the United States. This report, citing a slew of data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, states that during 2016 alone almost 6,000 pedestrians throughout were struck and killed by cars and trucks. This number, currently the highest on record, comes after years of continual increases in the number of pedestrians killed by drivers.

After this report emerged, the National Complete Streets Coalition took it upon themselves to comb through the raw data and figure out where exactly the most dangerous metro areas were throughout the entire country. Their own report, released in January of this year under the title Dangerous By Design, shows just how disproportionately low-income communities, the elderly, and people of color are harmed by drivers across America. This information emerged after they began to look into the cities with the highest number of pedestrian fatalities and the identities of the people who were killed as a result of being struck by a car.

For Floridians, this report is especially troubling. Nine out of the top fifteen deadliest metropolitan areas in the country are located within Florida. In fact, Florida accounts for the top six most deadly cities. Put in order, Florida – and therefore the country’s – most deadly cities are:

• Orlando
• Daytona Beach
• Palm Bay
• Sarasota
• Lakeland/Winter Haven
• Jacksonville

Those are numbers one through six. Cape Coral-Fort Meyers ranks as number eight, Tampa as nine, and Miami rolls up into the number fourteen spot.

No one who reads this should feel comfortable by the facts. This news points out just how badly our pedestrians – and, as the National Complete Streets Coalition report points out, our pedestrians who are elderly, people of color, and/or lower income in particular – are faring while near our roadways. Initiatives such as the one recently launched by the Florida Highway Patrol to cut down on the number of pedestrian accidents are helpful, but they are certainly not going to be enough to stem the tide of pedestrian accidents and fatalities that plagues us.

Sources:

• The 20 most dangerous US cities for pedestrians

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.