Why Florida Has So Many Car Accidents Every Year

It seems like Florida gets in the news a lot. Sometimes it gets headlines for politics or other notable events. Florida also has an additional distinction. It’s a state where many car accidents occur.

Almost 350,000 car wrecks happen in Florida yearly. Some involve cars hitting each other. In some cases, vehicles strike inanimate objects. Other times, cars have single-vehicle accidents. They can hit animals, pedestrians, or cyclists.  

You might wonder why so many Florida car accidents occur each year. We’ll address that right now.  

Florida Drug Problems

Drug problems represent one reason why Florida sees so many vehicular accidents yearly. In Florida, some people abuse drugs. They might abuse prescription pills. Florida has an opioid problem, with pill mills operating and the government chasing down individuals who sell and use these dangerous substances.

Florida has a methamphetamine problem as well. You may know about the “Florida Man” phenomenon. Virtually every day, you might see headlines about a Florida man robbing a gas station naked or doing something equally deranged.

Methamphetamines can cause these erratic behaviors. Some individuals in Florida cook meth, while others use it. If you hear about someone in Florida doing something bizarre, this drug might cause that.   

Alcohol plays a part as well. It’s not illegal, but it’s still dangerous. If someone in Florida drives drunk, they can easily hit another vehicle, a pedestrian, a fire hydrant, or just about anything else.

If you look at all these substances, both legal and illegal, that people in Florida use, you can see why so many accidents occur. Not every Florida car wreck involves drugs, but many of them do.

Tourists and Partying

Florida also remains a popular tourist state. College kids go there on spring break, spending time in Daytona Beach and Miami Beach, among others.

You also have families from all over the US who come to party and spend their money. The Sunshine State welcomes them all. They bring cash and spend it at the resorts, in hotels, and also in restaurants and bars.

These individuals may drive drunk. Some might ingest other substances as well. They’re far from home, and they feel like they should cut loose. They don’t necessarily show the same restraint in this new locale that they would in their home cities.

Any tourist or college student who visits and overindulges might cause a wreck. They might drive when a bar has served them too much, or they may jump in the road so that a driver swerves and hits something while avoiding them.

This kind of mayhem causes accidents throughout the state. Major party towns like Miami see car wrecks every day, and when you consider the out-of-state visitors and how some of them behave, you can see why.

Commercial Truckers

Commercial trucks rumble through Florida all the time. Some remain in the state, driving loads from the panhandle to other cities. They might contain grocery items, furniture, or just about anything else. You also have out-of-state truckers visiting from the East Coast, the Midwest, and even further away.

Commercial truckers must follow rigid protocols. So must the companies that employ them. However, some truckers and companies skirt the regulations in place that govern them. When these violations lead to accidents, victims often seek the expertise of a car accident attorney to understand their rights and potential remedies. Being informed can make a significant difference in the aftermath of such unfortunate events.

Laws state that truckers must rest for a certain period and that they can’t drive for too long before stopping. These laws protect the truckers and also anyone else on the road around them.

Whenever you have a trucker who breaks these laws and stays on the road longer than the law says they can, they’re endangering those around them. They can cause a wreck if they nod off at the wheel or they’re full of caffeine or illegal substances they ingested because they wanted some extra driving hours.

That’s why you should avoid commercial trucks if you see them in Florida. Maybe the driver behind the wheel won’t do anything illegal, but you never know which one might swerve when you’re nearby because they’re sleep-deprived or they’ve drunk five cups of coffee.

A Lack of Sidewalks

You’ll also notice some parts of Florida with no sidewalks. You’ll see residential neighborhoods, both in cities and in more remote locales, and there’s nowhere safe that a dog walker, a jogger, or a cyclist can feel safe.

With no sidewalks, someone might walk or ride a bike on the side of the road. If you have someone driving who’s not paying close attention, they might hit that person.

Distracted driving causes many Florida car accidents, just like it does everywhere else. Imagine if you have a driver who’s changing the radio station. Maybe they’re arguing with someone in the car or yelling at the kids in the backseat.

If there’s someone walking or jogging along the roadside, and there’s no sidewalk, that’s a potential accident. The lack of sidewalks in some places raises the state’s accident totals every year.  

Animals in the Road and Poorly Maintained Streets

You might also have an accident if you’ve got someone driving in Florida and they come around a curve and see an alligator crossing the road. You can also find other large animals in this state, especially in more rural areas.

You might have wild hogs crossing the road, or black bears, or even cougars. If you’re driving and you see one blocking your path, you might swerve off the road or do something else erratic.

In addition, some people find that when they drive through Florida, they might run into some stretches that the local governments aren’t maintaining as well as they should. Roads with massive potholes and other problems can cause accidents. Some underfunded townships have this issue.

If you look at all of these factors, you can see why Florida has so many car crashes. It’s hard addressing any one problem, let alone so many.

You must exercise caution while driving in Florida. Keep your wits about you and drive defensively. You can usually avoid disaster that way.