Avoiding Election Day Accidents in Florida
Research that was conducted in 2008 and printed by the Journal of the American Medical Association examined all federal election days from 1976 to 2007. This study revealed that the rate of traffic accidents greatly increases during voting hours on election day. As a matter of fact, approximately 800 additional victims endure critical injuries and an average of 24 additional victims are killed on election day during voting hours when correlated with any other Tuesday in the months of October and November.
Most Common Kinds of Car Accidents
There are several different kinds of car crashes that could potentially happen on election day in Tampa and throughout the state of Florida. Some of these include but are not limited to:
- Inattentive driving accidents
- Parking garage or parking lot accidents
- Failure to yield right-of-way accidents
- Sideswipe accidents
- Pile-up or chain reaction accidents
- Intersection accidents
What’s So Different About Election Day?
There are many theories as to why serious car accidents are more common not just in Florida but throughout the United States on election day. Just like a car accident on any other day of the year, many drivers are likely not paying attention to the road and causing an increase in the rate of distracted driving accidents.
Additionally, parking lots, parking garages, and polling places themselves are going to be overcrowded. Drivers are faced with large numbers of people who are focused on getting in line and casting their ballot, instead of watching where they are going.
Some other possible reasons for this election day phenomenon are people being unfamiliar with their polling place, causing missed turns and unexpected braking, and also voters whose emotions are running high and may not be acting rationally.
Minimizing Your Chances
Luckily, there are some things you can do that will help you stay safe and minimize your chances of being involved in an election day car accident in Florida.
- Try carpooling: Call an Uber or ask a friend to drive you. Going with someone you know will help to lessen the amount of traffic near polling places. If you are the driver of the carpool, your passenger can help you by keeping an eye on your blind spots and looking for available parking spaces while you concentrate on the road.
- Plan ahead: Speeding to try to get to your polling place before it closes increases your chance of being in a car accident. Leaving earlier than you think you need to will help prevent this.
- Keep calm: Whatever happens, do your best to remain calm, no matter how others are behaving. Staying calm will help you make logical assessments and decisions. Steer clear of anyone who seems confrontational or is driving aggressively.
The Florida personal injury attorneys at Fulgencio Law are happy to provide a free legal consultation concerning your claim.
If you or a family member sustained an injury during a car accident that was caused by someone else’s carelessness, please contact our Florida personal injury law firm by calling (813) 463-0123 to see how we might be able to help you with your Tampa personal injury claim.
