Lee County first responders are banding together in a joint effort to reduce holiday travel risks.
FOX4 News reported local safety crews joined together for a 4D press conference. In addition to focusing on drinking, drugs and distracted driving, the effort will also highlight the risks of drowsy driving.
There have been 89 deadly accidents on Lee County roads as of late November.
The deaths of two Fort Myers sisters in a traffic accident is a sobering reminder of the risks of driving in Southwest Florida as we head into the height of the holiday travel season.
The sisters, ages 56 and 52, were killed when their car struck an oncoming vehicle while making a turn at the intersection of Daniels Parkway and International Drive, according to NBC-2.The Florida Highway Patrol reports the driver of the other vehicle was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The sisters were beloved in the community and were involved in numerous charitable organizations and fundraising efforts.
Drivers will face increased risk through the remainder of the holiday season. As our injury lawyers in Fort Myers reported, the shortened holiday season will likely lead to frayed nerves as it coincides with the beginning of the long winter tourism season.
Black Friday signals the beginning of the holiday shopping season. This year’s season is the shortest possible — 6 days fewer than last year and the fewest number of holiday shopping days since 2013.
Combine that with an early start to frigid northern temperatures that descended upon the midwest before Thanksgiving dinner was on the table, and the forecast in Southwest Florida calls for packed roads and burgeoning malls and shopping centers from now until Christmas Eve Day.
Our injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral wish each of you a safe and blessed holiday season. Staying safe is a proactive activity that approaches the level of a competitive sport as shoppers and arriving winter residents and tourists compete for space.
A recent tragedy in Southwest Florida highlights the risk of backover and driveway accidents.
The Fort Myers News-Press reported the death of a 5-year-old girl, who was struck and killed in a driveway on Cypress Lake Drive. The Florida Highway Patrol reports the girl was struck by a Jeep Wranger pulling into the driveway around another parked vehicle that was obstructing the driver’s view. 
Injuries to children in driveways most commonly result from backover accidents. Large holiday gatherings are the unfortunate scene of most of these tragedies. The prevalence of large gatherings of family and friends, the start of colder weather up north, and the popularity of today’s large pickup trucks and SUVs all play a role.
The end of the year is a time of self-reflection and self-renewal. A time for family and for resolutions.
It is also a time when we deal with much of the paperwork that runs our lives. As part of your annual review, our experienced injury lawyers in Cape Coral and Fort Myers urge you to take a careful look at your auto insurance policy to make sure it will be there for you in the event of a serious accident.
For many victims, it will be their own insurance policy that will be the best source of financial relief in the aftermath of a serious or fatal motor vehicle injury. And, for too many, their own auto insurance policy may even turn out to be the only source of compensation.
The National Safety Council is urging motorists to consider all forms of impairment this holiday travel season.
For more than 20 years, drivers with alcohol concentrations at or above 0.08 have remained involved in about one-third of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. That’s about 10,000 lives lost every year. Our car accident lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral have made fighting for the rights of drunk-driving collision victims a primary focus since 1971.
We remain active this holiday season in supporting the Lee County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and have long supported DUI checkpoints and increased patrols conducted by local law enforcement agencies, including the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cape Coral Police Department.
Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend of the year. But it also signals the beginning of the long holiday travel season and the beginning of winter tourism season in Southwest Florida.
Early darkness, holiday stress, more cars on the road, and a large number of visitors and tourists, all increase the risks of motor-vehicle collisions through the remainder of the year.
Last year, AAA reported about 54-million people traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. And by the end of the year, 112-million people total traveled for the holidays. The agency is expecting to see that trend to continue this year. That means about 1-in-3 Americans are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home this year, or about 300,000 people traveling to or from Lee County this holiday season.
The end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday Nov. 3 means many motorists can expect darkness during their morning and afternoon commutes. It will get light a bit earlier, but seasonal darkness will eliminate most of that advantage, meaning morning motorists must remain alert, particularly for pedestrians in residential neighborhoods and along main thoroughfares. Motorists will face early darkness in the afternoon as their commute actually takes place an hour later.
Once used to give farmers extra summer daylight, and used extensively during the World Wars to conserve energy, Daylight Savings Time is either loved or hated, depending upon your perspective.
But what is not up for debate, our injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know, is the role visibility often plays in traffic collisions. Rain can make for particularly hazardous driving conditions, especially during the height of rainy season. But with seasonal rains quickly dissipating, it is the early darkness descending upon Southwest Florida that will increase traffic risks through the remainder of the year.
With early darkness approaching and the year-end holidays just around the corner, local road-safety advocates are warning residents and visitors alike to make safety a priority.
Our injury lawyers in Fort Myers see an increase in crashes each autumn. We have written recently about the collision risks associated with back-to-school, as well as Halloween pedestrian safety. However, early darkness brings with it its own risks, not the least of which is the return of snowbirds and other winter residents.
Florida saw a record 126 million visitors last year. But the record is expected to be short-lived, with even more people expected to visit the Sunshine State this year. More than 1 million of those will visit Southwest Florida during the year-end holidays, according to the Lee County Visitors and Conventions Bureau.
A woman in Key West recently suffered serious injuries after being struck by the propeller of a private airplane. The incident highlights the risks faced by those who enjoy Southwest Florida’s thriving private aviation community.
USAToday reported she lost her right hand and two toes of her right foot when a propeller blade hit her Saturday as she was helping to prepare a private plane for takeoff at Key West International Airport. The airplane accident involved a a 1966 Cessna model 172S plane rented in Fort Myers. The plane was being piloted by her husband; the couple resides in Fort Myers. 
The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation of the accident. The 46-year-old victim was initially taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and later flown out to Ryder Trauma in Miami. Continue reading ›
Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
