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Drivers going south on Three Oaks Parkway in Estero will find that the road changes names at Coconut Road in Estero, to Imperial Parkway in Bonita Springs, and to Livingston Road in Naples. Even more often than the road's changing names, the allowable speed limits change. The speed limit changes from 45 mph, to 40 mph, and to 30 mph as well as 20 mph depending on what stretch of the road on which a driver is driving. These speed limit changes are the result of the population density. The lower the speed limit, the less likely a pedestrian hit by a vehicle, travelling at the posted speed limit, will become a fatality statistic.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), which has the responsibility for making Florida roadways safer, recently reported the following:

What can be done to make Florida's roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists as well?

The FDOT District 1 Secretary, Billy Hattaway, has been a strong advocate and creative thinker when it comes to safer roads. He is not only a planner of roadway design, but he is also an engineer and a cyclist according to Dan Moser, a co-founder of the Bike-Walk Lee Coalition. Mr. Hattaway's goal is to create safe streets for all; safe streets where vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists can co-exist.

Mr. Hattaway's original plan was reported by the not-for-profit organization, Transportation for America, in a 2011 report titled, Dangerous By Design. In this report he listed several Florida communities, which included metropolitan Lee County, as among the most hazardous, in the nation, places for pedestrians. He points out that the past fifty years of what city planners call "sprawl development" where the focus has been predominantly on moving vehicles has significantly increased the severity of the problem for finding the needed appropriate ways to share the roadways. The problem in finding support for his message has been that fact that we have generally been a "car-centric" society. Mr. Hattaway's message which has now been adopted as a state-wide initiative is called "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow".

Being alert requires strict adherence to the posted speed limits on roadways where the speed limit often changes. Unlike what may be the general enforcement practices on interstate highways, posted speed limits in densely populated areas are strictly enforced. "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" urges motorists to follow the speed limits and law enforcement officers to have a zero mile-per-hour tolerance for motorists travelling above the posted speed limit signs. This will allow road design to make changes to eliminate speeding, and also to put into the design pedestrian and bike paths to improve safety for all.

"As there is documented evidence from the FDOT that an increase in speed from 20 mph to 40 mph, makes the difference in the number of pedestrians surviving an accident, we strongly urge motorists to slow down, obey posted speed limit signs, and watch out for pedestrians and cyclists," says Lee County Pedestrian Accident Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.   

Fort Myers Pedestrian 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.