USA Today: Fla. deadliest state for walkers, cyclists
Monday, March 1, 2010
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
MIAMI, Florida — Florida is the deadliest state in the U.S. for pedestrians — and bicyclists don’t fare any better.
In 2008, the most recent year for which federal statistics are available, 11.1% of pedestrians and 17.4% of bicyclists killed in the U.S. died in the Sunshine State, which has 6% of the nation’s population.
The top four of the 10 most dangerous metropolitan areas for walking are in Florida, according to a study last fall by two Washington, D.C.-based non-profit groups. The state has been in the top three in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities every year since 2001, federal data show.
The statistics perplex state officials. “There are so many factors involved and most of them are random,” says Marianne Trussell, chief safety officer for Florida’s Department of Transportation. “We’re trying to figure out root causes and how we can fix it.”
There’s a debate over those causes: Is Florida so deadly for walkers and cyclists because of the behavior of drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists? Or because of inherent flaws in the way roads are designed and built?
………………..Underlying these factors, transportation safety officials say, is behavior: “Somebody is doing something they shouldn’t be doing,” Trussell explains. “Drivers are making a right turn and not yielding to pedestrians, or making a right turn on red. Pedestrians are not paying attention to traffic, or they’re crossing the street midblock instead of going to the intersection.”
She takes issue with the November study by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership that spotlighted dangers to pedestrians in Florida. The study found pedestrians in Florida — and around the U.S. — are endangered by the nation’s shift from development clustered around traditional streets to wide, high-speed roads designed to move thousands of vehicles.
“The roadways aren’t as dangerous as the (study) would have made it seem,” she says. “It’s not the roads. The roads are just sitting there by themselves.”…..
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Could it have something to do with the crazy erratic driving we see when florida motorists are texting on their cell phones when driving.
Also the failure of local and state government to recognize, national and international statistics on cell phone use while driving.
http://bicycleuniverse.info/cars/cellphones.html
Watch this youtube video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAlLZD2LrC8
http://www.wirelessweek.com/News/2010/02/Policy-and-Industry-Florida-Ban-Texting-Driving-Government/
Due to Florida’s great weather and flat togography, bikers and pedestrians are 3 times as acive as in
other states. In the Northeast states, few would ride in the colder half of the year. Wind chill, snow, ice, constant drizzling rain, mud, slush, grime make walking or cycling unpleasant for all but the few hardcore. Also, summer heat is often worse up north; Floridas coastal cities rarely see temps above 94F. Hilly terrain and narrow roads further discourage many in the NE states, neither are drivers in CA or other warm states known for being considerate.
To be objective, we need a comprehensive log of activity hours for the average biker or pedestrian in Florida. Floridians are much more active outdoors than homebound northerners. Take winter cabin fever in Minnesota for example; and summer temps reached 114F in the Midwest a copla summers back. Phoenix has great bike paths, but few dare it in summer after 9 or 10am. The sun will turn you into a rice crispy. Also much darker in winter, drizzling rains and intense dawn cold, high winds, dust storms and thorns.
Also late summer breathless humidity and overcast skies, lightning. Constant window lectures from car drivers, huge intersections, high driver speeds, abundant broken glass and shrapnel make Arizona and other western states challenging. The poorer areas feature old narrow bad pavement, ignorant illegal drivers,and lax law enforcement.
Bicycles are classified as vehicles and should obey the same rules of the road as automobiles. Ride your bike as if you’re driving your car. Bicyclists need to be “predictable” – meaning – stopping at stop signs and red lights, throwing out a left or right hand to signal a turn, riding with the flow of traffic and not against the grain, etc. The problem is is that both bicyclists and motorists are not aware of this and need to be educated more about the rules of the road for bicyclists. I’ve been commuting by bike for many years. I stop at stop signs and red lights, signal turns, ride with the flow of traffic, use the left turn lane at an intersection when making a left turn – and I’ve never been hit by a motorist – because I’m predictable. Also, the roadways could use a revamp on making them more bicycle friendly – more bike lanes and wider roads.
“Pedestrians are not paying attention to traffic, or they’re crossing the street midblock instead of going to the intersection.”
Frankly I see more opportunity to get plastered at an intersection than crossing midblock. You only have to keep an eye on cars from two directions rather than 4.