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Studies show that daily exercise along with healthy lifestyles can lead to longer lives. Many Floridians and visitors do not necessarily go to gyms but do walk frequently. This, along with an increase in pedestrian/traffic deaths, is why many states are pushing for walkable communities.

U.S. Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities

The Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported in Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2022 Preliminary Data that from January through June 2022, 3,434 pedestrians were tragically killed in the U.S. This is a 5 percent increase from 2021 or 168 additional deaths. 2021 statistics showed that nearly 7,500 U.S. pedestrians tragically died, which is about 20 pedestrian accident deaths every day – more than any other single year for the past 40 years.

Florida’s GHSA Pedestrian Fatalities

Florida is among three states including California and Texas that had the highest number of pedestrian fatalities in 2021. Together, the states accounted for more than a third (38 percent) of all pedestrian deaths during the first half of 2022, even though they accounted for only 28 percent of the U.S. population. GHSA explains this disparity by the fact that all three states have warmer climates and large urban centers.

GHSA reported there was a 6.9 percent increase in tragic pedestrian deaths from the first half of 2021 to the first half of 2022 in Florida.

How to Create Walkable Communities

Cars and other vehicles dominate our lives in Florida making it particularly important to create walkable communities to safeguard pedestrians and bicyclists. In April 2023, walkability expert Dan Burden discussed walkability communities at a WUWF Public Media, Tallahassee, FL CivicCon event.

According to WUWF, Mr. Burden grew up exploring neighborhoods on foot. Even when in the Navy in Pensacola, he continued his walking. Eventually, he became one of the country’s top walkability experts. “He served as Florida’s first state bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for 16 years before founding his own organizations advocating the concept of ‘complete streets.’ He helped implement legislation in the 1980s for the Florida Department of Transportation that set a trend across the country.”

Mr. Burden believes “A big mistake in urban design is placing high-speed limits in areas where bikes and pedestrians are. The ideal speed is 20 miles per hour. We should be designing neighborhoods where nobody drives more than 20 miles per hour. That's truly a safe speed. It's much quieter. There's no reason, once you're on a local street, to be going more than 15 or 20.”

U.S. Surgeon General Strategies for More Walkable Communities

The U.S. Surgeon General says that the transportation, land use, and community design sector can promote walking and walkable communities through the following strategies:

Design and maintain streets and sidewalks so that walking is safe and easy.

• Design streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks that encourage walking for people of all ages and abilities.
• Improve traffic safety on streets and sidewalks.
• Keep existing sidewalks and other places to walk free from hazards.

How Walkable Is Our Community?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that potential pedestrians use its Walkability Checklist to determine how walkable a person’s community is before settling on a daily route.

Florida Pedestrian Accident Attorney Assists Accident Victims 

Having safe areas for walking is just one of the important ways of protecting our citizens from becoming victims of negligent drivers. Safe driving techniques are also important and required under Florida law.

Under Florida law, drivers are required to stop for pedestrians who are in marked crosswalks. When drivers are distracted or are speeding, pedestrians are in danger of being injured. Experts agree the injuries they suffer can be severe, such as:

• Head Injuries – When pedestrians are struck by moving vehicles, their heads may strike the vehicle, the ground, or both. This blunt-force trauma can cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull, causing bleeding, swelling, and bruising.
• Broken Bones and Fractures – Pedestrians frequently break or fracture their hands, wrists, shoulders, arms, and legs when colliding with moving vehicles.

Florida Pedestrian Accident Attorney Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. is experienced in assisting pedestrian accident victims obtain the compensation to which they are entitled.

Spivey Law will assist pedestrian accident victims prove the four elements to legally establish negligence, which are:

1. The person at fault owed the pedestrian a duty of care. This establishes that the negligent party was responsible for acting as safely as possible under the circumstances.
2. The person at fault breached the duty of care. Breaching the duty of care can be for such things as distracted driving, ignoring traffic signals and signs, speeding, and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
3. The at-fault party’s negligence caused the pedestrian’s injuries. This means the breach of the duty of care must have directly led to the pedestrian’s injuries.
4. The pedestrian was harmed. A pedestrian accident victim’s attorney must provide evidence of the losses he/she suffered, such as medical bills, permanent disability, and financial hardship.

“Should you or a loved one be injured in a pedestrian accident because of the negligence of another, after seeking medical attention, please contact Spivey Law 24/7 at 239.337.7483, toll-free at 1.888.477.4839, or online at SpiveyLaw.com," said Florida Pedestrian Accident Attorney Randall Spivey. “There are no costs or attorney fees until there is a monetary recovery for you.”