Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A Dramatic Rise in Deadly Car Accidents in 2022

August 21, 2022 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Here we go again, Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer Joseph Lipsky sadly reports that nearly 10,000 people were killed in car accidents in the first quarter of the year, federal transportation officials said Wednesday, which is a number representing the deadliest start in America over the past twenty years. In states such as Florida, car accident deaths were up nearly 10% compared to the same quarter last year. The figures, which represent actual deaths, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not state the causes of the deadly crashes. The researchers do not have an explanation for the drastic rise in car accident deaths, but initially believe the continued lower congestion since the pandemic, has allowed already reckless drivers to drive at even more dangerous speeds. There is also speculation that those reckless drivers are more frequently driving under the influence and not using seat belts. The continuing rise in deadly car accidents began in the first quarter of 2020, when nearly 8,000 people died in car and truck accidents. That number rose in the first quarter of 2021, when the number rose to nearly 9,000. The first quarter of the year, January, February and March, is generally the least deadly on American roads.

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg previously said the government was working to reduce deadly car accidents by commencing a “safe system” approach that would evaluate roads and cars designs. The program will be funded from the infrastructure law, which includes a $5 billion fund that will provide grants aimed at protecting bicyclists and pedestrians. The infrastructure law requires technology that could address some causes of fatalities, such as including breath monitoring devices in cars. The government released this deadly car accident information in advance of the Labor Day holiday, in hopes of educating drivers to avoid reckless conduct, like drinking and driving, and texting while driving. The government is also introducing a multi-million-dollar campaign to advanced driver education and safety. While NHTSA has responsibility for the safety of vehicles, much of its budget is dedicated to advertising campaigns and help for law enforcement. Some safety advocates say the federal government has struggled to move beyond its long-standing focus on driver behavior.

As we remember during the beginning of the pandemic, roads had much less traffic but those on the roads drove at much faster speeds, not being burdened by rush hour congestion. With most people thinking the pandemic is in the past, Americans drove more than 750 billion miles between January and March, a rise of more than 5 percent versus 2021.NHTSA determined that the death rate on U.S. roads during the first three months of this year was 1.27 per 100 million miles driven, also a significant rise from 2020. .

Concerning Rise in Florida Car Accident Deaths

June 28, 2022 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer Joseph Lipsky regrets to report that the number of car accident deaths across America rose the most since the 1940s. The increase over the past year was unexpected, as car accident deaths and injuries had been on a downward trend over the past fifty years – due to vehicle safety innovations, reduction in drunk driving crashes, and lower speed limits. Those changes are the reason why the rate of car accident deaths dropped to their lowest number, prior to the pandemic.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 43,000 people lost their lives in car and truck accidents last year, an increase of 10.5% over 2020, which itself had the highest death rate in fifteen years. In comparison, during 2019, car accident death rates rose nearly 20 percent, which was the highest rise since the mid-1940s. Trying to determine the reason for the dramatic increase is difficult, but researchers believe it is a deadly combination of faster reckless drivers using their phones while behind the wheel.

Not surprisingly, Florida is a top state for distraction-related automobile deaths, according to data from MoneyGeek.The Sunshine State had over 500 distracted driving deaths during the years 2019 to 2020. The only state with more distracted driving deaths during that time was Texas. In hopes of changing the path of deadly crashes in Florida, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) and the Florida Highway Patrol started a campaign, during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, to teach Florida motorists about the importance of avoiding distracted driving. According to FLHSMV data, distracted driving crashes resulted in 333 fatalities in 2021 – the highest recorded in Florida in at least 8 years. On average, there were more than 1,000 distracted driving crashes every week across Florida last year.

Teachers Deserve Recognition for Their Hard Work and Dedication

June 1, 2022 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Today we continued David Wolkowsky’s legacy by awarding his Teacher’s of Merit Awards to 9 tremendous educators from Key West High School. We take great pride in recognizing those hard

working teachers for their efforts, especially during Covid, in molding good citizens. Now more than ever, we need to applaud teachers for all they do.

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Deadly Car Accidents Rose to All-Time High in 2021

February 7, 2022 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer Joseph Lipsky reports that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of car accident deaths in the United States rose dramatically during the first three quarters of 2021, to a shocking number of nearly 32,000, with ten percent of those deaths happening in Florida. Sadly, this rise follows the post-pandemic surge noted once the Covid-19 lockdowns were lifted.

The government estimates that the number of car accident deaths during the period last year from January through September rose by twelve percent compared to the same time frame in 2020, a rise which was the highest recorded in over forty years, the greatest rise since the government’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System began monitoring traffic deaths. In fact, the number of car accident deaths of the year’s first nine months was the highest during those months since 2006. As expected, Florida, which was one of the first states to lift pandemic restrictions, was one of the states which lead the rise in traffic accident deaths. The rise in fatalities correlates to 1.36 traffic deaths per 100 million vehicle miles driven, which statistically was a slight rise from the 1.35 per miles traveled measured in 2020. Interestingly, the deadly rise diminished during the third quarter of 2021 versus the same quarter of 2020.

In light of this shocking rise, the Department of Transportation vowed to roll out a nationwide plan, called the National Roadway Safety Strategy, in hopes of reversing this deadly trend. Specifically, part of the recently passed infrastructure law will encourage states to build safer roads, with dedicated bicycle and bus lanes, increase lighting along rural roads and install more crosswalks. Given the difficulties local police departments are having deploying officers for traffic patrols, plans also call for installation of speed cameras, which are disfavored by motorists, but provide for greater and more cost-effective speed enforcement. Evidence is clear that reducing speeding motorists correlates to an equivalent drop in violent crashes, meaning lives are saved.

Pedestrian Deaths from Car Accidents at All-Time High

May 30, 2021 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney Joseph Lipsky is concerned that over the past year, even with a significant reduction in vehicle traffic for most of the year due to Covid-19, that the number of pedestrian wrongful deaths across America rose by the largest increase in over fifty years.

A report published by the Governors Highway Safety Association for 2020 demonstrated the most significant increase in car accident related pedestrian death rate since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration established its Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The initial reporting unfortunately found nearly seven thousand pedestrians died during 2020. That number represents a 4.8% increase over the prior year’s deaths.

In fact, the numbers mean there was a twenty-one percent increase in the pedestrian death rate – based upon a rate of 2.2 per billion vehicle miles driven. That increase is particularly concerning as we Americans drover significantly fewer miles over the past year due to lockdowns and pandemic related business closures and work from home requirements of the past year. Those figures, which we must remember represents actual loss of life, occurred despite a 16.5% reduction in vehicle miles traveled nationwide. Last year’s rise continues the pattern of increasing danger for pedestrians – as pedestrians fatalities made up 17% of all traffic deaths in the prior year, a nearly fifty percent increase from the 13% amount of pedestrian deaths in 2010. Basically, pedestrian deaths rose by nearly fifty percent over the past decade, while all other car accident-related deaths increased by only 5%.

Deadly Car Accidents Rise in 2020

March 22, 2021 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Despite driving significantly fewer miles over the past year due to Covid-19, there were actually almost 3,000 more car accident deaths in 2020, as compared to 2019. According to a recent study by the National Safety Council, over 42,000 people lost their lives in car accidents over the past twelve months – an eight percent increase from the prior year. Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer Joseph Lipsky knows too well of the carnage on our roadways over the past year, having helped many families who were victims of deadly crashes in Miami, Plantation and Boca Raton.

While safety advocates had hoped for a silver-lining during Covid, that a significant drop in vehicular traffic would result in an equally impactful drop in car accident deaths; the sad part is that those who choose to drive during the lockdowns actually demonstrated riskier driving behavior, including driving at high speeds. The dangerous driving was also documented by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which confirmed that more speeding meant deadlier crashes. Those findings seem out of place when looking back at Florida’s March and April, 2020, state of emergency and stay-at-home orders.

Most observers point to Covid-19 as significant contributing factor in the rise in deadly crashes – a statistic which is omitted from the Covid-19 reported death numbers. The safety council calculated that Americans drove nearly thirteen percent less over the past year; yet, the rate of driving deaths per 100 million vehicle miles driven increased by nearly twenty-five percent to 1.49, the greatest percentage increase in over 100 years.

Florida Car Accident Deaths Rise During Covid

January 18, 2021 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

As if 2020 was not difficult enough, Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney Joseph Lipsky sadly reports that the number of people killed on our highways rose nearly five percent during the first three quarters of 2020, even with the majority of Americans being locked down due to Covid-19. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) more than twenty-eight thousand people died in car accidents during the period from January through September of 2020, an increase from just under twenty-seven thousand deaths during the same three quarters of 2019. The deadly rise occurred during the timer when there were few vehicles on the road when the pandemic began.

While the stay-at-home restrictions emptied the roads of significant traffic, driver speeds rose steadily, resulting in a shocking rise in car accidents and wrongful deaths. Usually, economic slowdowns resulted in less miles being drive, last year’s drop was almost 20% versus 2019. Despite such a large drop, the ratio of car accident wrongful deaths rose by nearly twenty percent, up to 1.25 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

According to the NHTSA “Preliminary data tells us that during the national health emergency, fewer Americans drove, but those who did took more risks and had more fatal crashes,” the safety agency said in a letter addressed to the nation’s drivers. Traffic deaths rose 0.6% during the first-quarter of 2020, but they fell 1.1% in the second quarter as coronavirus lockdowns restricted movement. Car accident wrongful deaths dramatically rose by 13.1% from July through September. As the pandemic began and drivers encountered less crowded roads, they drove faster. And with police officers reluctant to interact with motorist, in a need to protect themselves from transmission of the virus, there was a drop in enforcement of traffic safety laws.

Pedestrian Deaths on the Rise Across South Florida

October 11, 2020 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer Joseph Lipsky knows too well how dangerous our roadways have become and resulted in a steady rise in pedestrian accidents. Having helped seriously injured Floridians for nearly thirty years, he has investigated and pursued justice for hundreds of pedestrians and bike riders who have been involved in a car or truck accident throughout Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Keys and the Palm Beaches. Unfortunately, pedestrian crashes are on a worrying rise. In fact, the number of pedestrians killed across America have now hit a nearly 30-year high, up from nearly 50% of the past ten years.

Recently researches have begun to focus on the causes of this deadly rise, as they’ve come to realize that the majority of pedestrian wrongful deaths are not the result of bad luck, but rather due to poor planning by engineers and politicians who have routinely ignored needed safety studies before building new roadways. Additionally, the growing number of large SUVs on the road has contributed to the increase in deadly collisions.

Most drivers do not realize that due to the height of SUVs they are prone to strike pedestrians in their torso, the site of vital organs, rather than in their legs – which may result in fractures, but not death. Studies found that SUVs cause nearly 110 wrongful deaths per 1,000 pedestrian collisions versus 45 caused by cars.

Car Accident Avoidance Systems Do Not Always Work

August 16, 2020 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyer Joseph Lipsky reminds is fellow drivers not to rely solely on vehicle safety systems as a way to prevent car accidents. Two recent studies by the American Automobile Association (AAA) found that so-called automated driving systems do not always work as advertised in stopping crashes and avoiding personal injuries and wrongful deaths.

The AAA examined safety systems from a number of vehicle manufacturers by driving more than 4,000 miles in their vehicles and found problems and issues with those vehicles on an average of one malfunction every eight miles. The most frequently seen problems revolved around keeping cars in their own lane of travel and in those vehicles being able to identify and avoid vehicles which were stalled or stopped in front of them, with many of those cars with supposed self-stopping systems actually crashing into a stopped vehicle nearly 66% of the time, at speeds in excess of 20 m.p.h.

In AAA on-road tests, each system had difficulty keeping its cars in its own lane, often times coming dangerously close to another car. Simulated track driving showed all vehicles, even those with self-acclaimed safety awards, were not able to consistently recognize a broken-down vehicle. Other manufacturers’ vehicles were not able to be tested as their systems were only designed to be used on specific roads, like highways divided by guardrails – meaning they are not helpful in many real-world driving situations.

Personal Injury Lawyer Joseph Lipsky Named Top 100 Civil Lawyer

July 13, 2020 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

The National Trial Lawyers Announces the Re-Selection of Joseph Lipsky as a Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer in Florida After One Year

For Immediate Release

The National Trial Lawyers is pleased to announce that Joseph Lipsky of Law Offices of Joseph I. Lipsky, P.A. in Plantation has been re-selected as a Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer in Florida after his first year as an exceptionally respected member. This honor has been given to Mr. Lipsky for his superior skills and qualifications in the legal field. Membership in this exclusive organization is by invitation only and is limited to the top 100 attorneys in each state or region who have demonstrated excellence and have achieved outstanding results in their careers in either civil plaintiff or criminal defense law.