Fort Lauderdale is only home to more than 182,000 people, according to the 2019 United States census. But as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Florida, Fort Lauderdale is a vacation spot for approximately 13 million visitors each year.
With more than 13 million people in the area within a year, it should be no surprise that Fort Lauderdale is also the site of thousands of motor vehicle accidents.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, more than 41,000 car crashes were reported in Broward County in 2019. The county had the second-highest number of reported crashes in Florida, with Fort Lauderdale seeing more than 5,400 auto accidents in the city alone.
Some of the most dangerous intersections in Fort Lauderdale include A1A and Las Olas Blvd., an area with more than 1,000 injured-related accidents in 2015; and Atlantic Blvd. and U.S. 1, which was the site of more than 6,000 accidents in 2015. (Data is based on information from Florida's Integrated Report Exchange System.)
Deadly Roads in South Florida
While 5,400+ crashes may seem like a low number in comparison to larger metropolitan cities, Fort Lauderdale's traffic accidents can be deadly. According to the Smart Growth America 2019 Dangerous by Design report, 5,433 pedestrians were killed between 2008 and 2017. Of these pedestrians, more than 28 percent died in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, giving the region a death rate of 2.61 per 100,000 people.
In Broward County alone, 2019 saw 715 accidents involve motorists and bicyclists, and 1,081 pedestrian crashes. These incidents resulted in 11 and 52 deaths respectively.
When it comes to pedestrian fatalities, Fort Lauderdale has the second-highest rate in the nation. The rate of traffic fatalities is the fifth highest. Over the past 5 years, there was an average of 20 fatalities on Fort Lauderdale streets each year.
Vision Zero Fort Lauderdale
Vision Zero Fort Lauderdale is a campaign aimed at creating a safe city with the ultimate goal of there being zero motor vehicle fatalities in one year. Fort Lauderdale is 1 of 10 cities leading a national effort to eliminate traffic fatalities.
The program will use a combination of engineering strategies to create safer environments for driving, biking, and walking, education and encouragement to promote best practices for safely using the streets, enforcement to encourage motorists to obey traffic laws, and evaluations to collect data on the successes of these strategies.
Vision Zero was implemented in 2015 and based on 2019 data, traffic fatalities have already decreased. However, there is still a long way to go to reach zero.
Weinstein Legal understands the devastating consequences of all motor vehicle accidents. If you were hurt in a car crash or lost a loved one in a fatal accident, contact Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorneys to discuss your legal options.
Fill out our contact form or call 954-845-0505 to speak with our legal team.
