Latest Blogs

A national study conducted by Zendrive, a smartphone app that tracks driving conditions, reported that Florida is the second worst state in the nation for school-zone driving. Zendrive took into consideration factors such as speeding, rapid acceleration, hard braking, and phone use while driving in more than 125,000 school zones in the nation when conducting the study. Both Lee County and Collier County were given an “F” rating. 

There are international, national, and local efforts to reduce accidents in school zones. One such effort is the Model School Project.

Model School Project

Eight years ago, the United Nations declared a Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020, “to reduce deaths and injuries that occur on the road.”

With support from FedEx, Safe Kids Worldwide undertook a pilot project, called the Model School Project (MSP).  MSP was established to create safe zones around schools that make a safer walking environment for students in school zones around the globe because traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for school-age children. They specifically targeted one school in Florida, which was English Estates Elementary School in Fern Park, Florida, which had 730 students.

Safe Kids Seminole County identified the challenges for children walking to and from the Fern Park school as faded crosswalks near the school and parents who were dropping students off at undesignated locations.

The Model School Project worked on four types of changes in the school zone:

• Environment
• Knowledge
• Policy
• Enforcement 

There were three phases:

• Phase I: Assessment
• Phase II: Interventions
• Phase III: Evaluation 

For this particular project, Safe Kids Seminole County identified deficiencies; installed safety signage, lights, and a high-visibility crosswalk; re-striped the existing crosswalks; designed safer traffic patterns, and implemented a walking school-bus program. The walking school-bus program is to encourage more students to walk to and from school as a group with adult supervision.

What Communities Can Do to Protect Kids on the Move

“The four factors identified in the Zendrive study, i.e. speeding, rapid acceleration, hard braking, and cell phone use, are all factors in the control of the driver. The factors identified by the Model School Project incorporated changes that can be made to specific school zones. We need to do better in protecting our children in school zones. Getting an “F” in the study is not acceptable,” said Fort Myers Child Injury Lawyer, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

A local effort was reported by NBC-2 News on Saturday, January 5. The Naples Police Department is cracking down on traffic dangers around schools. On January 3, the department conducted 19 traffic stops within a mile-long stretch of North Goodlette-Frank Road from Lake Park Elementary School to Gulf View Middle School, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., according to Lt. Matt Fletcher of the Naples Police Department. Five of the stops resulted in driver citations, and Lt. Fletcher told NBC-2 the majority of the traffic stops were for speeding.  Police Officer Ryan Harp said he has seen “people putting on makeup, eating, texting and driving, and messing with the children in the back because they were acting up while they were driving.” The NPD is planning to continue its surveillance throughout the school year. 

“Should your child be injured by a negligent driver, please contact us to assist you. We are available 24/7, and there are no costs or attorney fees unless we make a monetary recovery for you,” said Attorney Spivey.

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 23