Florida Car Crash Fatality Statistics

Florida Car Crash Fatality Statistics

Florida is one of the top three most populous states in the country and therefore has quite a few vehicle accidents. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) gathers information and takes part in studies to provide citizens, lawmakers, and others with useful data about public safety issues related to motor vehicles. According to their recent report, there have been 1,483 traffic fatalities so far in 2017.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to measure and evaluate highway safety, standards, and programs for each state. The data shows that in 2015 there was a total of 2,939 traffic fatalities in the state. Of those, 1,238 occurred in urban locations and 453 in rural locations, although more than 1,200 were reported as unknown location.

Florida Highway Deaths

A report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Highway Loss Data Institute includes information about the road user in fatal accidents. Of the 2,939 deaths, 924 of them were in cars, 511 in pickup trucks or SUVs, 31 in large trucks, 577 were motorcyclists, 628 were pedestrians, and 150 were bicyclists. Of the total deaths, 54% or 1,579 were the results of single car crashes while 46% were due to multiple vehicle crashes.

There are a number of factors that may contribute to deadly vehicle crashes. Impaired driving and distracted driving are noted as being important possible causes of vehicle accidents. Another factor that may make death more likely in a crash is the failure to use seat restraints. Seatbelts must be worn while driving a motor vehicle according to Florida laws.

Florida has one of the highest numbers of vehicle crash deaths in the country. Death rates per 100,000 of the population are calculated so comparisons may be more easily made between states. Florida has a population of 20,271,272 with 206,982 million miles traveled. The deaths per 100,000 of the population are 14.5 in Florida and 1.42 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. This is according to data from 2015, the most recent date from the IIHS report. For the report, data is analyzed from NHTSA FARS.

Arrive Alive Initiative

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) implements state traffic safety and education campaigns to educate and protect the public. The current initiative is called Arrive Alive, a campaign dedicated to reducing roadway deaths. FHP partners with various agencies to focus on providing law enforcement presence, education and engineering endeavors in hot spots. Hot spots are areas that have been identified as places where fatal accidents most frequently happen. These locations are identified in part using Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS). The purpose of the program is to reduce the number of crashes with fatalities and serious injuries.


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