Although statistics show traffic fatalities are climbing, drivers in Florida and throughout the country may be safer in the future thanks to an initiative by the Obama administration. In October, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced its first steps in a plan intended to put a stop to deaths and injuries from motor vehicle accidents within the next three decades.
In 2015, traffic fatalities rose more than 7 percent compared to the previous year, and preliminary figures from the first six months of 2016 show an increase of 9 percent over the total in the first half of 2015. The head of the DOT has said that government, industry, drivers and safety advocates will need to rethink how they approached safety.
The agency said that it would try to educate the public about the use of seat belts and the dangers of drink driving. It also plans to increase the use of rumble strips, which alert drivers who are leaving their lanes. However, a major change in safety is expected to occur as safety technology improves and self-driving cars become commonplace. Fully autonomous vehicles are expected to eliminate human error, which is said to be a factor in 94 percent of all motor vehicle accidents.
Examples of the way human error could account for car accidents include driving while texting or talking on a cell phone, getting distracted by an argument in the vehicle or drowsy driving. People may suffer catastrophic injuries in these types of accidents including spinal or brain injuries, amputations or broken bones. It may be impossible to fully recover from some of these accidents, and people may be unable to work for weeks or months. They might even be unable to work at all. Injured victims may thus want to have legal assistance in seeking compensation from the negligent driver for their losses.