Two fatalities were the result of a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 19 in early December. The Florida Highway Patrol said Charles Prugh, 63, of Clearwater, was driving a Ford Sedan, headed south on U.S. 19. The Ford Sedan collided with a 2004 Jaguar that was headed north on U.S. 19. The occupants of the Jaguar, a male and a female, both died as a result of this crash. Prugh was seriously injured but lived. The Florida Highway Patrol said all involved were wearing seatbelts.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC CRASH STATISTICS SUMMARY
According to the 2016 Annual Report of the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there was a 5.73 percent increase in total crashes in the State of Florida from 2015 to 2016. A 6.05 percent increase was seen by drivers involved in crashes and a leap of 8.74 percent was noted in fatal crashes.
THREE TIPS TO HELP YOU STAY SAFE IN A CAR CRASH
Wear Your Seat Belts. While in the incident above, all occupants of the motor vehicles were wearing seat belts and two still perished, wearing your seat belt is not only a recommendation, it is a law. Wearing seat belts is more helpful than harmful, and, in fact, in many cases, they are life-saving, in most instances. The best way to wear your seat belt is to make sure the belt going across your lap rests on your hip bones, while the shoulder strip rests across the center of your chest. Children, of course, should be in proper car seats until such time as they are big enough to properly wear a seat belt and as mandated by law.
Ensure Your Car Is Safe. This can be a broad category, but for starters, always try to make sure there aren’t any loose objects laying in your car, especially of a heavy or pointed shape nature, that could be used as a projectile if you were to be involved in a crash. If you are carrying a number of items, put them in your trunk and not your back seat. In this category is also the need to always keep up with maintenance on your vehicle. Air bags (they are not in some older model cars) and seat belts can help tremendously with safety. It has been proven that they significantly reduce the chances of injury or death from a vehicle accident. Always ensure your car’s brakes, engine, tires, suspension, and transmission are in good condition. Get your oil changed regularly and ask the mechanic to take a good overall at your motor vehicle to try to identify any problems before they become an issue.
Obey Traffic Laws and Pay Attention to Current Road Conditions. Pay attention to the road conditions, whether that is rain (making streets treacherous) or construction zones, etc. Try to avoid any holes or objects in the roadway. Lower driving speeds are always better than higher speeds when in doubt.
It is not a given when we head out the door each morning that we will all safely return. We certainly all hope we do. Yet car accidents happen. Try as we all might (some try harder than others), accidents still occur, bad judgment is used, and so on. When the results involve motor vehicles, the force to be reckoned with is intensified.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a motor vehicle crash, be sure to contact a personal injury attorney to help assess what your rights as a victim are and to understand the paths of assistance that may be open to you.