Are fatalities common on the roads in Florida?

Traffic deaths happen more often than you may think in Florida. Anything from distracted driving to falling asleep behind the wheel can result in an accident, so it’s no surprise that they happen daily. The most recent traffic death totals focused on in studies are from 2010, and you can review them to better understand why accidents take place in your state. These numbers have been released so that the second half of this decade can be improved upon and made safer for drivers moving forward.

Here’s an example of the severity of Florida’s traffic accidents. In 2010, there were 2,262 fatal accidents with 2,445 people killed. That breaks down to around 6 to 7 deaths each day.

In those incidents, 27 percent of the crashes involved a drunken driver. There were 660 drunk driving deaths with 635 of the crashes involving drivers who were intoxicated. Almost one-third of the intoxicated drivers were killed, according to the data.

Not all fatalities come from two-car crashes or single-vehicle accidents. In fact, collisions with non-motorists and fixed objects also resulted in deaths. Over 560 deaths resulted from a collision with a non-motorist, which means anyone who wasn’t driving. That could include people like children playing in the street, joggers or other pedestrians. Another 550 deaths were attributed to collisions with fixed objects.

Also interesting is the location where most accidents took place. Rural areas saw only 91 deaths in collisions while urban interstates saw the majority, with 1,854 fatalities. The freeway and expressways also had limited fatalities with 75 reported in 2010. Local roadways were the second most dangerous area with 793 fatalities listed.

Source: FindtheData, “Florida Traffic Deaths,” accessed April. 14, 2015