If you live in the Sunshine State, you’ve probably seen your fair share of traffic accidents. And that’s because they happen so frequently. To put that into perspective, we need only look at a study from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It revealed that 381,156 total crashes occurred in the state between January 2023 and October 2023. Of those 381,156 crashes, 3,292 and 242,622 resulted in fatalities and injuries, respectively. There is, however, a silver lining. So far, fewer accidents have occurred on Florida roads today than in 2022.
A Closer Look At Florida Crash Statistics For 2022
While the nearly 310,000 total crashes that resulted in close to 200,000 injuries and over 2,500 lost lives in 2023 are disconcerting, it’s an improvement over 2022 numbers. Studies show the total number of crashes reported across Florida between January 2022 and December 2022 was 381,000. Of those, 242,622 and 3,292 resulted in injuries and fatalities, respectively. There were also 102,568 hit-and-run crashes in Florida in 2022, with 266 resulting in fatalities. While hit-and-run crash statistics are not yet available for 2023, by all accounts, they will most likely be higher than they were in 2022.
The Types Of Crashes That Occur On Florida Roads
Vehicles colliding with one another are not the only accidents that occur on Florida roadways. The Sunshine State is one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians in America. That was the assertion made in an article published by Forbes and further substantiated in a study from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV ), which revealed that pedestrians were involved in more than 10,000 crashes in Florida in 2022. There were also 8,899 and 6,960 crashes involving motorcycles and bicycles, respectively. Turning back to crashes involving vehicles, the following are the most common in Florida every year:
- Head-on collisions
- Left turn collisions
- Rear-end collisions
- Sideswipes
- Single vehicle accidents
Unfortunately, alcohol-related crashes are also common in Florida. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 5,232 drunk driving-related crashes in Florida in 2022, with about 3,052 resulting in injuries and around 406 resulting in fatalities.
What Florida Counties Are Home to the Most Traffic Accidents?
While traffic accidents are common throughout Florida, they seem to happen in some counties more than others. Public records show the counties with the most reported crashes in 2022 include the following:
- Broward County – 33,300 total crashes
- Duval County – 23,996 total crashes
- Hillsborough County – 27,838 total crashes
- Miami-Dade County – 61,319 total crashes
- Orange County – 25,539 total crashes
- Palm Beach County – 24,412 total crashes
- Pinellas County – 15,325 total crashes
Florida Crash Statistics Vs. National Crash Statistics
As worrying as the crash statistics are in Florida, national crash statistics are even more troubling. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, around 42,795 people across the U.S. died in traffic accidents in 2022, and some 1,593,390 were injured. Available data shows Texas, Connecticut, Montana, Mississippi, Washington, Ohio, and New Hampshire had the most alcohol-related crashes in 2022. Like in Florida, head-on, rear-end, and left-turn collisions accounted for most alcohol and non-alcohol-related traffic accidents across the U.S. in 2022. The same applies to sideswipes and single-vehicle accidents.
In summary, what’s happening on Florida roadways is not too dissimilar from what’s happening on roads nationwide. Many Floridians are getting into accidents due to distracted and aggressive driving, driving under the influence, speeding, and tailgating. If more people make it a point to break these poor driving habits, it would quickly reduce the number of accidents occurring on Florida roads each year.