South Florida Injury Lawyers

Our Port St. Lucie car accident lawyers have discussed the dangers of texting and driving time and time again. Now, there’s a local family trying get the message through to drivers after their lives were devastatingly impacted by a driver who had been texting. According to CBS12, a local family felt the effects of the dangerous driving habits firsthand. They are now trying to call attention to the issue before it happens to someone else.

“We’re supposed to be making more memories. Doing more things together. Not just as a family, but as a couple, and now I don’t have that,” said the woman.

You may remember the accident from August 13th of 2011. The accident in which the woman lost her husband because of a texting driver. Our Port St. Lucie car accident lawyers remember that accident. A 25-year-old driver sped through a red light while driving down Gatlin Boulevard when she slammed into the vehicle of the woman’s husband. It’s believed that the driver was texting as she went through the red light, though that has not been officially confirmed.

The victim’s wife is feeling the consequences of that alleged text message. Her life will never be the same.

According to the victim’s family, investigators believe that the red light-running driver was texting when the accident happened, but the state attorney’s office and local police can’t substantiate that because the driver hasn’t yet turned over her cell phone to authorities.

Tom Nichols with the Port St. Lucie Police Department says that they tried to determine at the time of the crash whether the driver was texting or on the phone. Nichols said that they looked all over for her phone number. They even stopped by her house in Port St. Lucie and weren’t able to get in touch with her.

The victim’s wife says it’s like the driver doesn’t even care that she killed someone.

The truth of the matter is that many accidents like that happen here in South Florida. Officers aren’t always able to prove that a driver was distracted by a text message or a phone call when an accident happens, leaving the causes of these accidents unrecorded.

At the site of the accident, faded white spray paint and flowers mark the holidays spent without the father, the husband, the victim of an accident with a driver who was allegedly distracted by a text message.

Now, the grief of their loss is replaced with a purpose. The man’s wife says she’s determined to share her story with people in the area to help them to understand the consequences that are associated with such irresponsible driving behaviors.

So far, the red light-running driver has not been charged.

Luckily, there is an anti-texting ban being proposed in Tallahassee. The bill recently made it through committee. Next, it faces a full vote in the Senate, but could be stopped by expected opposition in the House.

Currently, there are 40 states that have some kind of restriction on texting while driving, but there’s still nothing on the books here in Florida.
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Everyone knows there are some bad drivers on Miami roadways. These bad drivers include not only tourists and seasonal residents, but people who live in the city year-round as well. Some people have even described driving in this part of the state as a “contact sport,” according to the Miami New Times. That description is no surprise, considering the alarming number of car accidents in Miami annually.

This reputation raises some interesting questions, like what are the most dangerous roadways in the city? Perhaps not surprisingly, statistics show you’re most likely to get into an accident on a major highway or within sight of a Hooters.

Our Miami car accident attorneys remember a complaint that was submitted to the New Times discussing nonchalant drivers all around our city. Part of the complaint read “for the past three years, the city has neglected to repaint the street markings that show drivers where to drive.” What the complaint is discussing is the intersection of 19th Street and Dade Boulevard. Unfortunately, there are a lot of intersections that are poorly-constructed, overflowing with traffic and dangerous for all travelers.

This complaint raises the question — What are the most dangerous intersections in town? Public records from the Miami-Dade Public Works Department revealed that Kendall is the most dangerous area for intersection accidents. Surprisingly, this was drawn from the fact that the Public Works Department failed to return information regarding Miami Beach and the City of Miami to the Miami New Times. Not surprising. We’ll update you when the information is provided.

Kendall accounted for 6 out of the top 10 worst intersections. Doral accounted for the 3 of the top 10 worse intersections. Miami Lakes accounted for 1 of the worst. From 2006 to 2008, there were nearly 3,500 accidents in these areas.

Most Dangerous Intersections from 2006 to 2008:

-SW 152 St., Kendall and SW 137 Avenue in Kendall – More than 580 accidents.

-SW 152 Street and SW 117 Avenue in Kendall- More than 475 accidents.

-NW 12 Street and NW 107 Avenue in Doral – More than 420 accidents.

-SW 56 Street and SW 137 Avenue in Kendall – Nearly 400 accidents.

-SW 72 Street and SW 117 Avenue in Kendall – Nearly 380 accidents.

-NW 167 Street and NW 67 Avenue in Miami Lakes – More than 370 accidents.

-NW 36 Street and NW 72 Avenue in Doral – 340 accidents.

-SW 88 Street and SW 137 Avenue in Kendall – Nearly 295 accidents.

-NW 12 Street and NW 187 Avenue in Doral – Nearly 290 accidents.

-SW 72 Street and SW 107 Avenue in Kendall – Nearly 280 accidents.

Lastly, the Miami New Times wanted to note another dangerous intersection — NW 79 St and NW 27 Avenue in Liberty City. It’s clear that a vast majority of accidents in the area occur at intersections. Whether they are the result of road design or careless drivers, the fact of the matter is that these areas are dangerous and motorists need to be extremely cautious.
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We may not be any closer to flying cars, but there’s no denying that vehicles have evolved quite drastically in recent years. The next big change could be right around the corner and it’s already got some overwhelming support, according to CNN Money. Consumer Reports magazine recently announced that it’s in full support for vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems. These kinds of systems would allow vehicles to talk to one another electronically. They believe that this kind of technology has the ability to save thousands of lives from car accidents in Davie and elsewhere.

Experts call this technology V2V and say that it has the ability to let trucks and cars talk to one another when they’re traveling within the same area. Cars will be able to transmit the direction they’re heading and the speed they’re traveling at to help to avoid accidents with other cars in the area. Cars with this technology would even be able to alert other cars of problems such as slick roadways and other dangerous road conditions.

Our Davie car accident attorneys understand that the V2V technology may take a while to hit our streets, but we do need a little help on our roadways. Fatal car accidents continue to plague our area’s roads, despite the endless pleas for more driver awareness and caution. Until we’re able to travel the roadways in “driverless” cars, drivers are asked to keep attention on the roadways. Car accidents are a top killer for Americans. Most of these accidents are preventable, so we are asking residents to be the best and most cautious driver they can be.

Right now, there are smaller versions of V2Vs on our roadways. These are the vehicles that have the ability to override a driver’s command in the face of danger. These cars can hit the brake or swerve to avoid hitting something before a driver even notices any danger. Soon, there will be no need to override driver’s command, as the V2V technology will be the sole operator of the vehicle.

This isn’t a new idea from automakers either. This technology has been in the works for years now. Next year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) should rule on moving forward with research into the technology.

The NHTSA believes that this communication technology could potentially reduce the risks of car accidents by about 80 percent.

The cars won’t only be talking to each other, they’ll also be able to read info about objects and hazards that are along the roadway, including school zones, traffic lights and street signs.

The technology isn’t as big and bulky as you may think either. It’s actually only about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and the devices could even be used in older vehicles. Until we’re able to throw our hands behind our head in the driver’s seat and allow our car to navigate for us, drivers are asked to keep 100 percent of their attention and focus on driving and preventing accidents on our South Florida roadways.
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Officials in Florida are targeting aggressive drivers, who are causing far too many car accidents in Margate and elsewhere. These kinds of accidents are completely preventable with a little awareness. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is now asking drivers to watch their tempers and keep their eyes on the road – or they will be watching for you!

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) are using this time to help educate drivers about the dangers of aggressive driving. They’ll also be using the anti-aggression campaign to hunt down these dangerous drivers on our roadways.

Our Margate car accident attorneys understand that this new campaign is aiming to reduce the risks of all kinds of car accidents that cause injuries and death by combining education, evaluation and outreach with increased enforcement efforts.

We know that accidents involving commercial trucks and cars are the fault of the driver’s actions more than 85 percent of the time. Only about 15 percent of car accidents are the result of road conditions, vehicle defects or weather conditions. Often, aggressive driving or road rage is to blame for these types of crashes.

State officials want drivers to know the risks of aggressive driving habits and the importance of keeping your cool behind the wheel. It’s not just the FHP that’s going to be pursuing this awareness event. They’ve also teamed up with the Florida Trucking Association (FTA) to get the message across — all drivers have a responsibility to drive carefully.

Troopers across the state will be out in full force from February 27th through the 29th in search of aggressive drivers. Troopers will be aggressive in handing out citations for those that they feel are endangering motorists.

Troopers will be looking for:

-Drivers who are tailgating.

-Drivers who make unnecessary and unsafe lane changes.

-Speeding drivers.

-Drivers who fail to use turn signals.

In addition to the roadway enforcement efforts, troopers will be displaying roadside billboards and airing radio messages to increase awareness in car and truck drivers about the dangers of aggressive driving. The messages will also include the enforcement efforts of the campaign and will warn drivers about their risks for being ticketed if they’re witnessed displaying any of these dangerous behaviors.

There will also be events held at community centers and schools around the state to help to teach drivers about how to share the road safely with other motorists, especially large trucks.

Mary Lou Rajchel with FTA says safe roadways can only be achieved with a conscious effort from all drivers. She voices the efforts of the campaign and asks drivers to treat others on our roadways with respect and courtesy. Safe roads start with you!
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As our Plantation car accident attorneys recently reported, our roadways are plagued with dangers. Many of these are presented to motorists who have already been in an accident, or whose vehicles have broken down on the side of the road, as well as good Samaritans who stop to offer help.

Unfortunately, when a motorist stops to offer help, they’re putting themselves at risks too. According to the Sun Sentinel, officers are looking into the death of three people after they were hit by an oncoming car as they stood near the roadway near Northwest 69th Avenue on Broward Boulevard.

Two women in their 20s were involved in a single-car accident in Plantation with a tree just before 5 a.m. One of the women was from Fort Lauderdale. The other was from Sunrise. Plantation police report that a driver of a passing vehicle stopped to check and see if the two women were alright. Once that driver stopped and exited the vehicle, all there were hit by a passing car.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene and pronounced one of the women dead immediately. Battalion Chief Joel Gordon of the Plantation Fire Department says that the second woman and the man who stopped to help were taken to the Broward Medical Center, where they were later pronounced dead.

The driver of the vehicle that hit the three pedestrians was transported to Westside Regional Medical Center and treated for injuries.

This is just one recent example illustrating why exiting your vehicle on the side of the road can be very dangerous. We may all have to stop at the side of the road at some time or another, whether due to car trouble or low gas or to assist a child passenger or in the immediate aftermath of a wreck.

Sadly, passing motorists don’t often take the proper safety precautions to ensure an accident doesn’t occur. We recently discussed the dangers that law enforcement officials, emergency responders and roadside workers face as they do their jobs on our busy roads. From 1993 to 2002, there have been more than 680 police officers killed in accidents involving traffic stops.

Yes, Florida has a Move Over Law, which requires motorists to move over a lane or to slow down to 20 miles per hour under the speed limit if they’re approaching an emergency responder, a roadside worker or a law enforcement official. However, motorists should do this as a courtesy whenever they see anyone on the side of the road.
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