When it comes to road risks, distracted driving is number one with a bullet.
Car radios (AM) date to the Model A, although they were a prohibitively expensive option. When installation of AM/FM radios became standard in cars in the 1950s, there was heated debate on whether they would prove to be a deadly distraction to drivers!
They did. 
No doubt 2020 has been one for the record books.
While we await official predictions about the upcoming holiday travel season, there are early indications that many are seeking a return to near-normalcy as the nation and the world slowly move past the Presidential election and into the year-end holidays. 
Thanksgiving is typically the biggest travel day of the year, which frequently makes it among the deadliest times of the year on the road. This year, gauging the factors influencing those risks is a lot like predicting the outcome of our historic election. Our Fort Myers injury lawyers wish you good health and good fortune as we prepare to put 2020 behind us.
Please talk to your teenagers often about the importance of safe driving as we enter the long year-end holiday season.
Our injury lawyers in Cape Coral and Fort Myers know the year-end holidays are among the most dangerous times of the year for our young drivers. We have seen these tragedies forever ruin the holiday season for far too many families.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles got a jump on holiday travel safety as part of its participation in national “Teen Driver Safety Week” in late October.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 2,500 teens are killed and nearly 300,000 are injured every year in traffic collisions. Those ages 16-19 face risks three times higher than other motorists on the road. The news is no better in Florida, where more than 63,000 collisions a year involve teenagers.
More than six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 on road safety is still being studied. Certainly there was a marked drop in traffic collisions through the spring and early summer, as lockdown orders shuttered bars, restaurants and all but essential businesses and most of Southwest Florida sheltered in place. 
But with Gov. Ron DeSantis lifting remaining restrictions at the start of October, and the height of tourism season right around the corner, there is growing evidence that the roads of Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties are once again getting more dangerous.
And perhaps in new ways.
The decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis to lift the remaining COVID restrictions coincides with the return of early darkness and the start of the tourism season in Southwest Florida.
DeSantis started October by announcing Phase 3 reopening in response to economic realities and stabilizing numbers of coronavirus cases. Bars, restaurants and resorts were among the businesses permitted to return to full capacity, according to the Orlando Sentinel, although most are still expected to adopt social-distancing and other policies to help mitigate risks.
Daylight Savings Time ends Nov. 1 at 2 a.m., setting the clocks back an hour. National Geographic reports a number of places are trying to end Daylight Savings Time.Love it or hate it, Southwest Florida will see early darkness at a time of year when the days are growing shorter anyway. First common in the United States during World War II, and widely adopted in the 1970s in response to the Energy Crisis, many argue early darkness and early light do not conserve energy and certainly do not contribute to road safety.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ September focus on drowsy driving is an important reminder of the risks as we head into the autumn travel season.
“Drowsy Driving Prevention Week is a sobering reminder that falling asleep at the wheel has deadly consequences and is preventable,” said Executive Director, Terry L. Rhodes. “We urge all motorists to take responsibility and never drive drowsy.”
The agency partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Police Chiefs Association, Florida Trucking Association, and AAA.
Pedestrian safety and distracted driving awareness are vying for your attention this October.
Our Fort Myers injury lawyers recently blogged about the efforts of the inaugural Pedestrian Safety Month.
It is perhaps ironic then that we will also be recognizing October as Distracted Driving Awareness Month after the National Safety Council moved it’s annual awareness campaign from April to October in response to the COVID pandemic.
With Governor Ron DeSantis announcing the end of COVID restrictions on businesses, and the start of tourist season right around the corner in Southwest Florida, all signs point toward increasing traffic on the roads of Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties.
Autumn is traditionally the time of year when many teenagers get their driver’s licenses. Those eligible by age through the summer and autumn often enroll in driver’s education classes at their local high school. 
Like traditional schooling, COVID restrictions are impacting driver’s education in many ways, including less in-person class time and behind the wheel training in favor of virtual and online education models.
The National Safety Council has launched a campaign targeting the Big Three road threats: distracted driving, drunk driving and speeding.
Our car accident attorneys recently posted ways motorists can help keep themselves safer as the world attempts a return to near-normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. As we noted in “Understand Road Risks can Prevent Collisions,” safe driving is a learned and practiced activity.
As the NSC notes, more than 40,000 people were killed on the roads annually each year leading up to the pandemic, as record economic activity pushed fatalities near record highs. The organization is now targeting employers and parents, urging them to better advocate road safety to employees and teenagers.
There is some evidence that drivers are on a hair-trigger, despite the congestion respite that has been a welcome benefit of enduring the coronavirus pandemic. Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is among the agencies warning drivers specifically about the risk of road rage and aggressive drivers during this stressful time. 
Our car accident attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral share the roads with you right here in Southwest Florida. We have rode with you as morning and afternoon traffic has returned to near-normal as society seeks to do the same. The six-months since the COVID lockdowns began in March have been unprecedented in modern society.
But with returning school buses and other traffic hitting the roads, the risks of collisions is once again increasing. As we continue to report, pedestrians and bicycle riders are at particularly high risk as our most vulnerable road users and there are increasing reports of road rage being targeted at cyclists.
Florida Injury Lawyer Blog