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For years, there has been great concern over lane diving and narrow shoulders on Interstate 95 in Florida. A horrific accident that occurred in March of 2011 shed light on the problem, as it was one of the deadliest accidents on I-95 in Miami-Dade County in years, according to data obtained by WLRN.  

To summarize the incident: A number of accidents had occurred during the early morning hours of March 5, 2011. After the accidents, five of the individuals involved got out of their vehicles and stood on the emergency shoulder of the I-95 express lanes.

Shortly thereafter, a speeding drunk driver lost control of his vehicle, entering the toll lanes and hitting all five people standing on the shoulder. All five individuals died as a result of the accident.

Ft. Myers personal injury attorneys like Randall Spivey are quite familiar with the issues typically surrounding motor vehicle crashes and they know that families can be heartbroken and distraught after such incidents. Still, he and his team want all drivers to stay safe on I-95 and all other roadways in Florida and throughout the country.

Lane Diving: What is It and Why is It a Problem?

According to Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) crash reports and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) statistics, over 150 drivers were arrested last year and at least four individuals lost their lives in connection with lane-diving accidents.

But what is lane diving? Lane diving occurs when a driver cuts through the poles that separate the express and regular lanes. It is a practice that is very dangerous, particularly because drivers tend to lane dive at a time when one of the lanes has vehicles moving at a much quicker pace than the other lane.

WLRN, in its review of express lane data that covered collisions along a 13-mile stretch of I-95, learned that many of the accidents occurring on that stretch took place during rush hour and noted that fatal collisions typically took place between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., while accidents that were serious or incapacitating in nature often took place during the day.

The Issue of Narrow Shoulders and Express Lane Dangers

The FDOT, during its implementation of the 95 Express system, added another lane to I-95 in Miami-Dade County. At that time, the already-existing lanes were narrowed, delineating poles were added and the inside shoulder area was decreased by approximately 40 percent, which made the majority of the shoulder area slightly more narrow than a traditional parking spot.

One of the attorneys who represented the parents of one of the individuals killed by the drunk driver commented that the design of the express lanes also played a role in the deaths of those five individuals killed in 2011.

Based on the FHP crash report of that accident, there was an abandoned automobile on the shoulder in the express lane that morning. The vehicle was sticking out from the shoulder onto part of the express lane and the drunk driver lost control of his vehicle when trying to avoid the abandoned automobile.

FHP has openly opposed the smaller shoulders of the I-95 express lanes, noting that the shoulders make traffic stops “unsafe and, thus, enforcement difficult.” While it is true the 2011 accident could have occurred even if there had been wider shoulders, law enforcement still notes that those individuals who were killed did not have adequate space to move off the roadway due to the express lanes.

Anyone who has been injured in an automobile accident or lost a loved one due to a collision is encouraged to call the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. today to learn more about your rights under the law.