Data from 2017 has revealed that Miami-Dade and Broward are two of the most dangerous counties to be a pedestrian. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever walked or cycled in Dade or Broward, however it highlights the need for improvement.

As shown in the table below, Miami-Dade is 5th worst in terms of the highest pedestrian fatalities in 2017, while Broward is not far behind in 9th place.

(Source: FARS via https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida-number-two-for-pedestrian-fatalities-in-2017-10156224)

This comes on top of a previous report by the Florida Department of Transportation which highlighted that Florida, despite being just one of 50 states, accounted for 20% of the nation’s cycling fatalities.

Where do most accidents occur?

In terms of bicycle accidents, the FDOT reveals that:

• “The majority of accidents occurred on urban roadways”
• “Signalized intersections experienced a greater proportion of bicycle crashes compared to unsignalized locations.”
• 4 of the “hotspots” (with a very high frequency of accidents) were in Miami-Dade

What can be done about it?

The only benefit of such reports is that they provide information which can be used to reduce further accidents. For example, the report shows that a fewer number of fatalities happen when they occur on bicycle lanes. This suggests that increasing the number of bicycle lanes would decrease the number of fatalities. Similarly, the severity of accidents was lower when the cyclists were wearing protecting helmets. This has obvious suggestions for highway safety education and enforcement.

However, the majority of accidents are still caused by drivers, so clearly pedestrians are not the main culprit here.

I am a pedestrian and was involved in an accident - what should I do?

If you or someone else has been injured, then the first thin you should do is to seek medical treatment. If the injury is life threatening, then you should call 911 or proceed to your nearest Emergency Room.

Once medical concerns have been addressed, you may then want to consider your legal rights. You may be entitled to compensation for your medical costs and injuries. For this reason, it is helpful if you gather as much information and evidence as possible from the scene of the accident. This includes information such as:

• The contact information of the driver
• License plate
• Names and contact information of any witnesses
• Photos of the accident scene
• A police report

In order to ensure you receive all the legal rights to which you are entitled, we recommend that you contact a bicycle accident lawyer.

About AskMyAttorneys

After being involved in an accident as a pedestrian, the last thing you want is to be struggling to pay for your medical bills or arguing with insurance companies. Our pedestrian accident attorney in Plantation is experienced at representing pedestrians injured in car accidents, which means he can assist you with securing funding for any medical bills associated with your auto injury. For advice or assistance, please click on the link below which best matches what you need:

Here is what we do:

• Motorcycle accidents
• Rear-end collisions
• Hit & Run Accidents
• Truck crashes
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
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• Intersection accidents
• Failure to yield accidents
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Understand your legal rights when you are involved in a car accident. Schedule an appointment or contact us at 954-961-5100 for more information or to discuss your free consultation. We speak English and Spanish.