Car Accidents

SWFL Streets No Safer Despite COVID

April 25, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

It’s official. COVID has not made the streets of Southwest Florida any safer.

The News-Press reported there were more than 100 traffic fatalities last year in Lee County, despite the drastic traffic reductions that resulted from COVID restrictions through high season and the summer months.

It was the 10th time since 2000 that Lee County recorded more than 100 traffic deaths in a year, but the first time since 2017. So, statistically, road risks actually increased during the pandemic, despite the travel restrictions and business closures.

As our injury lawyers in Fort Myers have pointed out here on our blog, vulnerable road users continue to be at highest risk and are overrepresented in the statistics. There were 22 Lee County pedestrians killed in crashes in 2020, 18 motorcyclists and eight bicyclists. That accounts for nearly half of the total number of fatalities. All totaled, there were 107 Lee County drivers killed in 94 fatal crashes in 2020.

Eleven of the 98 fatal crashes were hit-and-runs and a high number of fatal crashes were blamed on speeding.

Graduation a High-Risk Time for Teen Drivers

April 2, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Graduation season is upon us, followed by summer. Hopefully, we are putting the worst of the coronavirus pandemic behind us, and millions of Americans are itching to travel. Among those at highest risk are teenagers and young drivers.

We continue our safe-driving series by reminding Southwest Florida parents about talking to their kids about the risks and ensuring your teen is properly insured and is driving a suitable vehicle.

Much has been made about the extra risks teens face: Driver inexperience, uncertainty in unusual conditions like rain or heavy traffic, riding with other teen passengers, distraction, driving at night, and driving while intoxicated.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports teenagers drive less than all but the elderly, yet are three times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than drivers over the age of 20. Those ages 16 and 17 are at highest risk.

But the truth is many risks are preventable.

Aggressive Driving a Seasonal Risk in Southwest Florida

February 25, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Seasonal traffic has hit the streets of Southwest Florida in force, despite COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic restrictions.

Since the holidays, there has been a noticeable increase in traffic and congestion. This alone, is enough to make the streets more dangerous. But when combined with visitors in rental cars, lost tourists, and other motorists who are unfamiliar with the roads, the risks increase exponentially.

Our Fort Myers car accident attorneys begun the year with a look at the most common dangers on the road, including distracted driving. But perhaps the most under-appreciated risks include many common driving behaviors of which we are all guilty from time to time.

Your Passengers are a Deadly Distraction

January 24, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

As part of our New Year’s look, Staying Safe on Florida Roads,we’ve taken a look at many types of distracted driving, including cell phones and other electronic devices.

But when it comes to driver distraction, the most overlooked risk is sitting beside you.

By some estimates, driver distraction is involved in at least one-third of the nation’s fatal traffic collisions, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths each year. Even in cases where speeding, alcohol, or other factors contributed, it is often momentary distraction that provides the catalyst for a tragedy.

On some level, all drivers with passengers – whether friends, family or passengers for hire – understand they are accepting the added responsibility for everyone’s safety. However, far few consider the risk those passengers pose to safety when it comes to distraction.

Proving Causation in Distracted Driving Collisions

January 24, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

We’ve been blogging a lot about distracted driving as part of our New Year’s look: Staying Safe on Florida Roads.

While we all know about the risks of using cell phones, less publicized risks like having children or pets in the vehicle, eating and drinking, and using onboard electronics, are no less dangerous.

Still, our experienced car accident attorneys in Fort Myers know few risks compare to the modern-day cell phone. Gone are the days when the biggest worry was driving and talking. Text messaging began a larger threat because it requires a driver to engage in all three types of distraction – eyes off the road, mind off the task of driving, hand off the wheel.

Phones Just Part of Distracted Driving Epidemic

January 11, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

As we enter our 50th year of representing injury victims in Southwest Florida, we recently blogged about the dangers of in-car technology and cell phones when it comes to the risks of being involved in a serious or fatal traffic collision.

But distracted driving is about much more than the electronic gadgetry that has become central to our daily lives. Nationwide, safety advocates report at least 3,000 people are killed and 400,000 injured each year in collisions involving distracted driving. However, the increasingly ubiquitous nature of this technology in our lives means the true risks are actually much higher – by some estimates involved in one-third of the nation’s traffic collisions, resulting in more than 10,000 road deaths each year.

Many of these victims were not in another vehicle at the time of the collision. About 1 in 5 of the people who died in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2018 were not in vehicles―they were walking, riding their bikes, or otherwise outside a vehicle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Happy New Year – Staying Safe in Southwest Florida

January 10, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Happy New Year!

All of us at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, wish you a safe and peaceful start to 2021. Most of us were not sorry to see the end of 2020, and have hopes that 2021 will bring a new beginning as much of the world seeks vaccination from the coronavirus and a return to normalcy.

Speaking of normal, perhaps you have noticed a significant increase in traffic on the roads of Southwest Florida. While the holiday shopping season seemed unusually tame, heavy traffic has signaled the start of the new year and the height of tourism season in Southwest Florida. Schools are back in session, winter residents have arrived and an increasing number of tourists continue to arrive at destination locations throughout Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties.

Distracted Driving Risks Date to the AM Radio

January 8, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

When it comes to road risks, distracted driving is number one with a bullet.

Car radios (AM) date to the Model A, although they were a prohibitively expensive option. When installation of AM/FM radios became standard in cars in the 1950s, there was heated debate on whether they would prove to be a deadly distraction to drivers!

They did.

A Thanksgiving Holiday Travel Season Like No Other

November 11, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

No doubt 2020 has been one for the record books.

While we await official predictions about the upcoming holiday travel season, there are early indications that many are seeking a return to near-normalcy as the nation and the world slowly move past the Presidential election and into the year-end holidays.

Thanksgiving is typically the biggest travel day of the year, which frequently makes it among the deadliest times of the year on the road. This year, gauging the factors influencing those risks is a lot like predicting the outcome of our historic election. Our Fort Myers injury lawyers wish you good health and good fortune as we prepare to put 2020 behind us.

Safety Advocates Focus on Young Drivers this Holiday Season

November 10, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Please talk to your teenagers often about the importance of safe driving as we enter the long year-end holiday season.

Our injury lawyers in Cape Coral and Fort Myers know the year-end holidays are among the most dangerous times of the year for our young drivers. We have seen these tragedies forever ruin the holiday season for far too many families.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles got a jump on holiday travel safety as part of its participation in national “Teen Driver Safety Week” in late October.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 2,500 teens are killed and nearly 300,000 are injured every year in traffic collisions. Those ages 16-19 face risks three times higher than other motorists on the road. The news is no better in Florida, where more than 63,000 collisions a year involve teenagers.