Last December, we blogged about how wrong-way accidents in Florida were starting to generate national headlines, as there were several crashes involving large death tolls.
Remember, wrong-way collisions are often fatal—passengers and drivers involved in these accidents are 27 percent more likely to die in them than in standard accidents. With this in mind, recently, a review by the Tampa Bay Times discovered that wrong-way driving accidents were becoming increasingly more common in the Tampa-area.
According to the Times, at the time reporting began in November 2014, over the previous seven years, Florida Highway Patrol troopers had responded to “at least 70 incidents of wrong-way drivers on limited-access highways around Tampa Bay.”
The newspaper reported that the one factor that stood out the most among the wrong-way accidents was drunk driving. “In almost all of the wrong-way driving cases that resulted in a crash, and in all six of [2014’s] fatal wrecks, the drivers were legally impaired,” the Times reported. According to the Times, “alcohol or drugs was a factor in about two-thirds of the wrong-way driving cases in the past four years in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.”
Aside from drunk driving, the newspaper implied that interstate construction might have also contributed to some crashes, as drivers may have been confused (in addition to being intoxicated).
A Deadly Orlando Wrong-Way Accident
While the statistics above deal with the Tampa-area, wrong-way driving accidents are not limited to that region. Sadly, on February 7, two men were killed in an Orlando head-on crash.
According to WFTV-TV, at about 4 a.m., one of the drivers involved in the wreck crossed from the northbound lane of Orange Avenue, near Perkins Road, into the southbound lanes and collided head-on with another vehicle. The accident remains under investigation.
Investigating a Wrong-Way Accident
As the case above shows and the statistics indicate, wrong-way accidents often have deadly consequences. If another driver has harmed you or killed your loved one in a wrong-way accident, it may be in your best interest to have the crash investigated by an attorney. This is especially true if you believe that alcohol contributed to the accident.
For more information about how we have helped victims of automobile accidents, review our verdicts and settlements page.
Source: http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/two-killed-head-crash-orlando/nj6Xm/