According to the advocacy group Smart Growth America, Florida had 5,142 pedestrian fatalities from 2005 to 2014 and a pedestrian death rate of 2.66 per 100,000 people. The group assigned Florida a high Pedestrian Danger Index of 177 by comparing data on pedestrian deaths with the number of commuters who get to work on foot.
Seven of the country’s most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians are located in Florida, the group said. These included Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Palm Bay-Melborne-Titusville, and Cape-Coral-Fort Myers.
The director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, Emiko Atherton, said that despite the poor ranking, many Florida communities had actually improved from previous studies.
The study ranked 104 of the largest metropolitan areas in the country according to the danger posed to people on foot. Researchers found that seniors and people of color were overrepresented among the pedestrian deaths. While people of color make up 34.9 percent of the national population, they accounted for 46.1 of pedestrian fatalities.
Safety experts said that there are several causes of fatal collisions involving pedestrians, including unsafe street design, poorly maintained infrastructure, speeding and driver negligence.
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The post Florida ranked as most dangerous state for car accidents involving pedestrians first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>The pedestrian, James Harris, spent a year negotiating with the city for a settlement. But Harris says that the city has yet to make a reasonable settlement offer, and he is now filing a lawsuit against the city of Houston and against McClelland.
Harris, a lawyer, says that the accident has left him with severe medical problems and has affected his ability to work. Harris writes with his right hand, which was badly injured in the accident and needs frequent surgical intervention. He is suing for lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
The accident underlines a greater problem: the dangers posed to Houston pedestrians. In spring of 2014, Houston was named the seventh most dangerous metro area for pedestrians in a report on pedestrian fatalities, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The report’s author, the National Complete Streets Coalition, claims that better street design would alleviate many of the risks. But Harris claims that unsafe driving was the main cause behind the accident that injured him. His lawsuit charges that the city failed to properly train police officers to avoid accidents and asserts that McClelland failed to brake properly because he was using a cellphone at the time of the accident.
The post Injured pedestrian files lawsuit after being hit by Houston Chief of Police first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>