[bmw335xi]

It's mostly due to drivers not used to seeing peds crossing the street. Orlando has more sidewalks than any city I've lived, at least the area where I live, but you rarely see people using them, therefore drivers making turns rarely pay attention to the crosswalk signs.

Not to long ago, I almost tore the door open of one driver because I was jogging and came to the intersection, I had the walk sign where it was counting down, I arrived when there was still like 15 seconds left to cross. The car tried to turn as I ran into the intersection and the lady almost ran over me and then had the nerve to honk at me and make a hand gesture. I went right up to her window and admit lost my cool, but every other word was F*** you, can you not F***ing see the crosswalk sign, you dumb F***ing B***... I lost my cool I admit, but I think she won't make the same mistake twice. I wanted to throw her out of the car I was so mad she almost ran over me and then got mad at me, like WTF! She apologized and said she didn't notice the sign, so that was the end of that and I went on.

[NY_refugee87]

Things I've noticed that contribute
Traffic lights aren't timed in sync properly
Distracted drivers
Dense population
Goofy road designs

In Upstate New York you can go 40-50 miles in the same time it takes me to get from PSL to Stuart. 18 miles in 45 minutes... Something wrong there...
To curb distracted driving they have HARSH fines and tag points to your license. 3 strikes you're out deal. 3rd infraction of texting/driving if you didn't learn the first 2 times with the fines and points you lost your license, DWI was catch and release. They gladly reduced DWIs to DWAI/DUI to keep your license and extort your money to the town in which you were pulled over. I hated the cesspool which is socialist state of NY. More people died of DWI than anything else and it was catch and release. I like this states way in how they handle DWI. No reduction. You go to jail with real criminals. Not thrown in "the drunk tank" to leave and appear to court at a later date.

Dense population... Combined with how the roads are structured... It's like New Jersey. No left turns allowed. Medians everywhere. Suggestion-instead of 4 lane wide roads... Double decker highways. It's not California. Don't need to worry about the earthquakes dismantling them...

And someone needs to teach people down here that green lights mean go. Not stop, Think about it, And creep up to speed, we aren't driving miss daisy. It's 730 I have to be to work at 8. Do that where I'm from, you get ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic and at fault if you get rear ended. Disobeying a traffic device I believe is the charge...

And there's this lovely thing called a turn signal. Don't know if the salesmen showed it to you when he sold you the car... But it's this nifty device that let's others know you intend on changing lanes or turn. And contrary to popular belief you don't need to come to a screeching halt to turn into a plaza or parking lot... I've seen big rigs with trailers negotiate these same entrances doing 20-30 miles an hour... They can do it so can you. Not like the entrance is covered in snow and ice causing you to spin violently out of control...

[PDF]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

How many pedestrian vs. automobile accidents do you think happen in, lets say Levy County?, Highlands?


"About two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities were in urban areas." https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api...ication/810968

So what are you getting at here? It's still a Florida problem, but if you want to keep dismissing it as a big city problem...OK then.

[Alpha_Dog]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

I think it has more to do with these types of crosswalks than anything else.


Trying to walk to the mall, which is directly North of this caption? Be prepared to cross 10 lanes of jam-packed traffic with nowhere to stop in between. Once you make it across, you have yet another lane to cross, this time it being a VERY busy turning lane.

Can't imagine ever crossing that Street during rush hour, not even if I'd lost a bet. The way many of these streets are designed is a major factor in many of these fatal collisions. As long as FL streets and roads are built to prioritize tourists driving at high speeds at the cost of pedestrian safety, this will remain deadly problem especially with the added culture of texting while driving, and tourists from all over the NE and p*** poor pedestrian infrastructure.

The State of Florida is responsible for the design of major arterial roads in the bigger cities, and can obviously do more to make the streets safer for pedestrians.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Any fool would know that articles published that contain statistics have differing results.


You're joking?? NYPD: 16,059 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 178 Killed in Traffic in 2013

The statistics involve per capita data, which is how risk assessment is calculated. 178 killed in a city of 8.5 million are pretty long odds if one does the math, so no...not joking. The Miami/Fort Lauderdale MSA, Tampa-St Pete MSA and Orlando MSA had fatality numbers of 1539, 874 and 583 respectively over a 10 year period. While not at a clip of 178 per year like NYC (Miami-FT Lauderdale is close though), the per capita numbers are as much as 4 times higher than the national average and NYC's numbers too.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by PDF

So what are you getting at here? It's still a Florida problem, but if you want to keep dismissing it as a big city problem...OK then.

Show me how this is a "florida problem" vs a problem that exists anywhere there is a major city.

Or

show me a state that has no auto vs. pedestrian accidents.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Show me how this is a "florida problem" vs a problem that exists anywhere there is a major city.

Or

show me a state that has no auto vs. pedestrian accidents.

Ok, it's been exhibited as being more of a problem in Florida than elsewhere, can you not slow down and read/comprehend?

[WithDisp]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Show me how this is a "florida problem" vs a problem that exists anywhere there is a major city.

Or

show me a state that has no auto vs. pedestrian accidents.

Read the chart. Nationally, per cap- Florida has 8 of the 10 most dangerous cities for pedestrians.
That makes it a Florida problem.

You are more likely to be involved with in a pedestrian/motorist accident in Florida, specifically the cities listed, than in any other state.


Are they generally avoidable, yes.
Could it happen anywhere, yes.
But the data points to it being a more significant issues in those Florida metros.

I blame poor road/crossing planning, weather issues, and an uneducated population for the most part.

[Restrain]

Narrow streets, no sidewalks, people crossing roads in traffic, people ignoring traffic, people walking or riding on dark streets with no lights or reflectors. Almost nailed a biker coming west on the eastbound side of a divided 6-lane highway. Expected traffic coming from the east, not an idiot riding the wrong way. And I was not the only one. Another driver a half-block further down the road turning to get on the highway almost nailed the biker as well. He continued on his way, not realizing that he was causing all these problems.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Restrain

Narrow streets, no sidewalks, people crossing roads in traffic, people ignoring traffic, people walking or riding on dark streets with no lights or reflectors. Almost nailed a biker coming west on the eastbound side of a divided 6-lane highway. Expected traffic coming from the east, not an idiot riding the wrong way. And I was not the only one. Another driver a half-block further down the road turning to get on the highway almost nailed the biker as well. He continued on his way, not realizing that he was causing all these problems.

While you seem to be placing it at the feet of the victims via your anecdotal experience, the evidence points toward aggressive drivers and infrastructure shortcomings.