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Traffic Fatalities
Each year thousands of lives are lost, thousands of injuries are suffered, and millions of dollars are spent as a result of traffic crashes on Florida’s roadways. Highway safety is a critical issue for all Floridians, with highway traffic fatalities and injuries a significant quality of life issue. Florida has a concentrated interest in highway safety due to an above average accident and fatality rate for vehicles traveling in the state.
Why Is This Important?
Traffic fatalities present a significant risk to Florida’s 18 million residents and 80 million annual visitors. In 2009, there were 2,563 traffic fatalities on Florida’s 120,000 miles of public roads representing the lowest rate in the state’s history. There is still more that can be done to influence that downward trend and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV) is clearly focused on lowering the traffic fatality rate. Protection of the motoring public is primary to our mission of providing highway safety and security through excellence in service, education, and enforcement.
How Is Florida Doing?
For the fourth year in a row, Florida has seen a decrease in traffic fatalities. The fatality rate decreased to 1.3 deaths per 100 million vehicles miles traveled (VMT) in 2009, from 1.5 deaths per 100 million VMT in 2008. This is the lowest the state has ever recorded since DHSMV began to calculate the rate which is over 40 years. As a note of comparison, the Mileage Death Rate was nearly double 20 years ago at 2.79.
Florida had a reduction in traffic fatalities, which saved 420 lives. Of the 2,563 fatalities, 1,555 were car and truck occupants (60.7 percent); 402 were motorcyclists (15.7 percent); 482 pedestrians (18.8 percent); 100 were bicyclists (3.9 percent); and 24 were “other” which consisted of mopeds, all terrain vehicles, and trains (0.9 percent). In 2008, there were 1,169 alcohol-related fatalities. In 2009, Florida’s alcohol-related fatalities decreased by 14.1 percent, or 1,004 deaths. With this reduction, 165 lives were saved.
In 2009, Florida experienced 1,555 traffic deaths of drivers and passengers in Seat Belt Equipped Vehicles (SBEV). The tragic note of this is 59% of these people killed were not wearing seat belts. Safety belts and child safety seats help prevent injuries by inhibiting ejection from the vehicle, redistributing the forces placed on the body during a crash, allowing the body to slow down gradually, and protecting the head and spinal cord. The 2009 Florida Legislature passed the primary seat belt law effective June 30, 2009, which required all drivers and passengers to be secured with a seat belt. The Department was pleased to see the 2009 traffic deaths of drivers and passengers in Seat Belt Equipped Vehicles has decreased due to the primary seat belt law.
Scorecard
What Influences Traffic Fatalities?
Highway safety is affected by a multitude of factors such as human traits and behaviors, technology, communications, enforcement, education, design, investment, and the natural environment including the weather. The interactions of the individual, the vehicle, and the infrastructure system influence safety in every mode of transportation. Influencing human behavior may be our greatest challenge. Substance abuse is a major contributing factor in traffic fatalities, as well as driver distractions and the impact of sleep deprivation on driver alertness. Young drivers who lack the skills and experience to anticipate or adjust to traffic problems, participation in street racing, and the ever-increasing incidences of road rage are areas of continued focus.
Alcohol consumption clearly influences Florida’s traffic fatality rate. Nationally, of the 11,773 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes during 2008, an average of one alcohol-related fatality occurred every 45 minutes. (the most recent national statistics) The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is more than four times higher at night than during the day. Male drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes are almost twice as likely as female drivers to be intoxicated. Drivers ages 21-24 reported driving while impaired more frequently than any other age group.
Speed is a critical contributing factor in traffic fatalities. Adequate speed management and enforcement is essential in reducing traffic fatalities. Weather conditions and road structure or the state of disrepair may cause a roadway to be hazardous and thus become a contributing factor in traffic fatalities.
Vehicle safety also influences traffic fatality rates. With the inclusion of seat belts, car seats for children, and air bags, vehicle safety has improved. Continued education and emphasis on the correct installation and use of car seats and enforcement of seat belt usage are essential in reducing the number of traffic fatalities.
What Is the State's Role?
While driver behavior has a major impact on traffic safety, the state plays a critical and wide-ranging role in preventing traffic fatalities.
• Numerous state agencies and local partners work to reduce substance abuse and drunk driving.
• Law enforcement is involved in reducing speeding, drunk driving, aggressive driving and in offering motorist assistance. The motorist assistance includes the Emergency Contact Initiative which allows motorists to enter emergency contact names, addresses and phone numbers in the event a family member is seriously injured or killed in a traffic crash. http://www.flhsmv.gov/EmerContInfoHistory1.html
•Transportation engineers set speed limits, plan and maintain Florida’s roads, and provide signage to alert drivers to road hazards.
• Public service campaigns raise awareness of good driver behavior, recent changes in laws that affect drivers, as well as providing child safety seats to those citizens who cannot afford them. The state offers free inspections of child safety seats to ensure their proper installation.
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/psa.htm
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/cps/
• Public and private schools are involved in driver training and safe driving awareness activities.
http://motorcycles.flhsmv.gov/safety2.cfm
• State laws target impaired driving, excessive speed and aggression, and vehicle safety and restraint.
• Education programs to promote safe driving for our teen population as well as for our senior population.
http://www.flhsmv.gov/teens
http://www.flhsmv.gov/dlcheck
http://www.floridagranddriver.com/index.cfm
• A comprehensive report which contains traffic crash data from state and local law enforcement agencies.
http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/safety.html
For More Information
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Contact:
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
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(850) 617-2000
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On the Web:
http://www.flhsmv.gov
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