The risk of a car accident is just a fact of life in Florida, as well as the rest of the United States. When you have millions of cars on the road every day, there’s always a chance that a wrong turn, a poor lane change, or an ill-timed attempt to speed through an intersection and beat a red light can result in a vehicular accident.
But there are some places in Florida where accidents are more likely to happen, and it’s these places where you should be more alert.Rural Areas Aren’t Immune
Most people assume that because of the dense population of urban centers like Ft. Lauderdale, it’s a safe bet that the majority of accidents happen in streets of high traffic areas. However, the statistics don’t bear that out!
Many of Florida’s accidents occur on rural roads. This is partly due to the assumption that emptier roads are safer, lulling drivers into a false sense of security, sometimes leaving them more vulnerable and less responsive to a potential accident situation when it occurs.
Neighborhoods
Suburbs and residential areas are also likely spots for traffic accidents, not necessarily a busy street in the middle of the city. One of the reasons for this is the abundance of extra factors that don’t affect a typical city street or freeway situation.
Children playing in yards, or pets allowed to roam free, for example, are far more likely in a neighborhood as they are in other urban situations. Parked cars, cyclists, and other potential hazards are also more likely in residential areas, where someone can damage a parallel parked car on the street while entering or exiting a driveway to a home, for example.
Parking Lots
In many cases, it’s not the high-speed collisions that are the most frequent, but the low-speed ones. People entering or exiting a parking space without properly checking distances or other vehicles often result in crashes. Thankfully, because few people are driving at high speed in parking lots, these accidents tend to damage only the cars and not the people inside them.
Whether it is for a big retailer like Walmart or even a workplace, any large parking lot is exposed to these same risks.
Commuting
Of course, any place where people let their guard down and entertain distractions can be a place where an accident occurs. Popular roads for commuting are accidents are more probable as people try to escape the monotony of the commute.
Although there are laws against it, using a phone while driving, for example, is one of the most common causes of traffic accidents. As people respond to text messages, social media posts, or other distractions on the phone, they take their eyes and concentration off the road. It only takes milliseconds for that lapse in attention, judgment, and reflexes to result in a car accident.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to financial compensation as a victim of negligence. To find out more, talk to an experienced car accident lawyer and find out what your next legal moves should be.
