Tampa Personal Injury Law Blog

In mountainous or wooded areas, it's common to hear about drivers seeing deer in the road -- but you don't often hear about an iguana causing a wreck.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a driver on U.S. 1 near Marathon saw an iguana in the road and came to a complete stop to avoid hitting the animal. Unfortunately, a box truck traveling behind that vehicle wasn't able to stop in time. When the truck hit the back of the car, the smaller vehicle was propelled into the opposite lane, directly in the path of an oncoming pickup truck. In the end, two people were seriously injured and had to be transported by helicopter to Jackson South Hospital.

Being a pedestrian in Florida can mean risking life and limb sometimes. Florida has the highest rate of pedestrian deaths in the nation, and 9 out of the country's "deadliest cities" for pedestrians are in the state. Pedestrians are regularly admonished by local authorities to use the crosswalks and obey the "Walk" and "Don't Walk" signs at intersections.

Even that may not be enough to stop you from being the victim of a negligent driver, however. Intersections -- with or without crosswalks and lights -- are still very dangerous for pedestrians. Here's why:

• Speeders trying to beat the lights: Drivers who are rushing along may spot the yellow light at an intersection and keep on going -- whether pedestrians are about to be signaled to step off a curb or not.
• Distracted drivers: Distracted driving has always been an issue on the roads, but the digital age has only enhanced the problem further. A driver may glance at their phone for "just a second" and not even see someone in a crosswalk.
• Drivers making a right turn: A lot of drivers simply slide up to a spot where they can turn right on red and keep on moving even if there are people trying to cross the road in a crosswalk.
• Drivers trying to get around other vehicles: Patience is often in short supply among city drivers when they see a stopped vehicle ahead waiting to turn or making deliveries. They may go around it without thinking about the foot traffic just out of sight.
• Nighttime visibility can be poor: Sometimes drivers get confused by the array of lights and signs at an intersection in the dark, or they're so focused on the lights that they don't spot someone walking in the road.

When a driver is behind the wheel, his or her main responsibility is to drive safely and pay attention to the task at hand. Unfortunately, many drivers fail in this responsibility and allow certain things to distract them. This can result in car accidents that are completely preventable. Distracted driving is a serious safely threat for Florida drivers.

If you consider distracted driving, you probably think about cell phone use. Cell phones are certainly a big part of the problem, but there are many other things that can cause dangerous levels of distraction as well. It may be in your interests to learn more about what counts as distracted driving and how you can shield your interests in the event a distracted driver causes an accident that leaves you injured. 

When a passenger vehicle bumps the fender of another passenger vehicle in traffic or in a parking lot, it's usually summed up as nothing more than a "minor fender-bender." There may be a little property damage, but people are seldom seriously hurt.

The same is not true where motorcycles are concerned. If a car, truck or sports utility vehicle taps the back of your bike while you're riding, you can go careening out of control and into the pavement.