Car accidents in Fort Myers and Cape Coral involving teen drivers made it the deadliest hotspot of its size nationwide for fatal accidents between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, according to a report released this week by Allstate Insurance.
The accident attorneys and staff at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, encourage parents to sit down with teen drivers and review driver safety as we head into the holidays.
The areas with the highest number of holiday fatalities since 2000 were also in Florida – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (59), Jacksonville (29) and Orlando-Kissimmee (39).
Fourteen fatal accidents involving teens have been recorded in Fort Myers- Cape Coral since 2000 – giving the area a holiday teen driving score of just 4 and making it the deadliest city of its size for holiday teen drivers. The Daytona Beach area was second by size with a driving score of 29 — or seven times better than Fort Myers-Cape Coral.
The study also reported that over the past eight holiday seasons, teen drivers nationwide have been involved in more than 5,000 fatal crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
While everyone at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, wishes you a safe and happy holidays, there are certain things you can do to help protect your rights in the unfortunate event that you or a loved one are involved in an accident.
Our accident lawyers also offer free appointments to discuss your case at any of our offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Arcadia, Venice and Sebring.
Please talk about driver safety with your teen drivers. Here are some helpful tips provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
– Make sure the driver and each passenger wears a seat belt.
– Never try to fit more people in a car than there are seat belts for them to use.
– Maintain your car. Bald tires, a slipping transmission, bad brakes or a hesitant engine could lead to an accident.
– Make sure you have a clean windshield. A dirty windshield can make it hard to see what is going on, especially during bad weather or at sunrise or sunset.
– Don’t drink and drive or use drugs and don’t ride with anyone who has been drinking or using drugs. Call parents or friends to take you home if you need a ride.
– Get directions before you go. Figure out exactly where you are going.
– Don’t drive like you own the road. Drive like you own the car.
– Obey the speed limits – driving too fast gives you less time to react. Excess speed is one of the primary causes of accidents involving teenagers.
– Obey stop signs and traffic lights – don’t try to run a yellow or red light.
-When a light turns green, make sure the intersection is clear before proceeding.
-Use turn signals. Make sure the signal is off after completing a turn.
– Share the road with others – watch out for motorcycles, bikes, pedestrians.
– Don’t blast the radio. You might miss horns, sirens or other signs of trouble.
– Don’t fiddle with the radio or anything else while driving – losing focus on the road for even a few seconds can lead to accident.
– Don’t talk on the phone, text, eat, apply make-up or engage in anything that distracts your attention from the road. People who talk on the phone are four times more likely to have an accident.
– Don’t leave your car on cruise control when you are driving late at night or are tired.