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Lee Health Trauma Center and the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization are focusing on fatal crashes in Lee County by involving the community. The project is called “Driving Down Fatalities”. 

“Driving Down Fatalities” is bringing together multiple groups including law enforcement, health care, private organizations, high school students and residents to discuss what traffic fatalities have occurred and what has been done in the past. With this knowledge, they will develop a community-wide action plan to work on reducing traffic fatalities, according to the News-Press. 

Lee County crash statistics 

USA Today reported in January that 2017 was the deadliest year on Lee County’s roads in nearly a decade. 111 people died in Lee County traffic crashes; the highest total since 2006, when 121 people died in crashes. 

Out of 12,692 crashes in Lee County in 2017, 7,836 resulted in injuries. 279 crashes involved pedestrians, of which 20 died, and 216 involved bicyclists, of which 2 died. 

Already as of March 2018, there have been 2,551 crashes in Lee County resulting in 955 injuries, 15 of which were fatal. 56 crashes involved pedestrians, of which 4 died, and 49 involved bicyclists with no fatalities, according to FIRES (Florida’s Integrated Report Exchange System). 

What are the worst driving behaviors leading to fatalities? 

"The increase in fatalities can be directly attributed to distracted driving," said Jay Anderson, Executive Director of Stay Alive Just Drive.  “An increased number of drivers on the road are also a contributing factor.”  

Experts agree the most common causes for fatal car accidents nationwide are: 

• Distracted driving
• Driving under the influence
• Drowsy driving
• Failure to use seat belts
• Speeding 

What can be done to prevent traffic deaths? 

Reuters and other news organizations report that there are solutions to reducing traffic deaths. These include “strong laws coupled with highly visible law enforcement and robust public education campaigns.” 

Few noticeable improvements have been made as the result of state-level efforts. Pedestrian fatalities and other road fatalities on the whole are rising overall in Florida and nationwide. 

There was a previous effort called the Vision Zero movement but the tide of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths did not decrease. Experts agree that it would take years for “Complete Streets” initiatives, like Florida’s, to take effect or even to have an effect, on traffic fatalities. 

Autonomous vehicles are touted as potential saviors in this battle; however, as we have seen from recent accidents, it will take time for autonomous vehicles to be programmed for every eventuality. In a NBC-2 report March 20, 2018, Karl Brauer, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book told CNN following a fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona that, “We’ve had one fatality that’s directly the result of an autonomous car hitting a pedestrian. The autonomous car fatality rate is still far superior to a non-autonomous car fatality rate on death per mile. That’s important to keep in mind.” 

“If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact the experienced attorneys at Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. to determine your rights,” said Fort Myers Car Accident Attorney. 

Fort Myers Car Accident Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.