When it comes to being safe on the road, Florida is not the best place for a motorist – or passenger, cyclist or pedestrian. A recent study that was conducted by the website WalletHub – the “Safest States in the U.S.” – puts Florida near the bottom in almost all of the categories that were considered in the findings. Overall, the Sunshine State was ranked 46th among the 50 states with regard to the safety of its citizens.
In assigning the rankings, WalletHub looked at five broad categories, each of which included several factors that were weighted according to their relevance to safety. The categories included personal and residential safety, financial safety, emergency preparedness, workplace safety and “road safety.” Florida received its worst score among the five in the latter category: 47th in the country for road safety.
The road safety category looked beyond just the number of motor vehicle accidents; it also included the severity of the accidents. The factors weighted in determining road safety included drunk driving arrests per capita, the quality of the state’s roads, the state’s driving laws, and poor driving habits like speeding and the use of electronic devices. The most heavily weighted factors were traffic fatalities per 100 million travel miles and pedestrian and cyclist fatalities per capita.
Anyone who has been injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by the faulty or poor driving of another should contact an experienced personal injury attorney. The right attorney can help investigate the cause of the accident, determine how the fault should be apportioned and fight to ensure that the victims are properly compensated. Florida’s roads may be dangerous for motorists, but those who are injured still have recourse in the law.
