INTERSECTION ACCIDENTS

INTERSECTION ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS

In Florida, it is estimated that one out of every three accidents occurs at an intersection. Why so many? Because a person thinks they can catch the light before it turns red. In their attempt to catch the yellow they must accelerate their vehicle. This high-speed scenario is where an intersection accident can become serious and even fatal.

Multiple cities in Florida have been busy installing red light cameras in many intersections. Even though the cameras will help catch the drivers running red lights and issue citations, it doesn’t stop an accident from actually happening.

The dangerous thing about these accidents is that one of the vehicles is usually struck on in a vulnerable section like the side of the car. Because many vehicles still do not have side airbags, this can expose the driver and/or passenger(s) to serious injury or death.

COMMON CAUSES OF INTERSECTION ACCIDENTS

The most common causes of a car accident in an intersection include:

Running a red light
Failure to stop at a red light before making a right turn
Running a stop sign
Ignoring yield signs and the right of way for other vehicles
Making a right turn at a red light when the sign states it is not legal
Disregarding the right of way to a motorcycle

AVOIDING AN INTERSECTION ACCIDENT

Do not change lanes: You need to stay in your lane when driving through an intersection. Remember that there are many cars at that intersection and they are not all going the same direction you are. These drivers are making their decisions based on where the other cars are. If you change lanes in an intersection, you are putting yourself and other cars at risk of getting into an accident.
Look both ways when the light turns green: Even though green means go, you need to take a quick look to your left and your right before you hit the gas. This simple two-second step can help you avoid a high-speed collision with someone trying to catch the yellow from the other direction. It can also possibly save you and any of your passengers from a serious injury or death from a car accident.
Watch out when you make a right: It is very common for a vehicle to arrive at an intersection and only look towards the left (to watch for oncoming cars) before making a right turn. It is important for drivers to also look towards the right. This quick look to the right could avoid a collision with cars that are backed up and not moving at the speed you are expecting, a bus, a pedestrian attempting to cross the intersection or a cyclist.

The car accident attorneys of Madalon Law understand that it doesn’t matter if you live in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach or any other Florida county; Intersection accidents happen too often. Please take the extra few seconds needed to drive through an intersection safely. If you or a loved one has already been injured in an intersection accident, then contact our Fort Lauderdale Office for your free consultation. The Broward injury attorneys at Madalon Law are here to help.

Broward County’s Most Dangerous Intersections

THE MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS

Since 2007, Broward County is the second county in the state of Florida for most car accidents – Miami Dade tops the list of most auto accidents. A car accident can often be the result of one of the drivers not paying attention or following good driving habits. It could be due to a newly licensed driver, someone who may be unfamiliar with the area, or someone who is not paying attention to the road because they are busy checking social media or reading an email on their phone.

You can be doing your part as a safe driver by paying attention, not following too close behind another driver, driving at a safe comfortable speed, and giving yourself time to get to your destination – yet still, find yourself the victim of a car accident due to someone else’s negligence.

Even though a car accident can happen anywhere, there are certain areas where car crashes tend to happen often. It doesn’t mean you should avoid these areas, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to be extra alert and pay very close attention to even the smallest driving details for safety’s sake.

Below are Broward County’s most dangerous intersections. Being extra alert in these intersections may give you the awareness and reaction time needed to avoid a collision:

Sunrise Blvd and Andrews Ave | Ft. Lauderdale
West Oakland Park Blvd and NW 50th Ave | Lauderdale Lakes
Sunrise Blvd by FEC Railroad | Ft. Lauderdale
Atlantic Blvd and Federal Highway (US 1) | Pompano Beach
NE 26th Street and Federal Highway (US 1) | Ft. Lauderdale
NW 31st Ave and Sunrise Blvd (by the Swap Shop) | Ft. Lauderdale
Sunrise Blvd overpass at highway I-95
NW 19th Street and 441 (State Road 7) | Lauderhill
U.S. 27 & Griffin Road | Southwest Ranches
W Oakland Park Blvd and NW 55 Ave | Lauderhill

If you do happen to get in an accident, make sure you read our steps to follow after a car accident article so you are better prepared and know how to handle the situation. If you have already been in an accident and have been injured due to the negligence of another driver, then you need to contact a Firm that knows how to handle these types of cases. Our Broward car accident lawyers have years of experience and an impressive success rate to show for it. We will even take on all of the costs and not bill you unless we win your case. Contact our attorneys now for your free consultation and get answers to your questions today.

Miami Dade Accident Stats and Dangerous Intersections

Miami has built a reputation for bad drivers throughout the years. Many that describe it will make comparisons to New York – another area that is known for drivers with a “different” approach to driving safely. Even though it would be incredibly inaccurate to label people bad drivers just because they live in Miami, there is no denying that bad driving is a reputation Miami has. As unfair as this reputation is, it does raise questions and also brings up some statistics worth going over.

Do car accident statistics support the reputation?

The answer is yes. From 2007 to 2011, Miami-Dade County continues to be the leading Florida County in car accidents. The less populated Broward County is in second place, but the difference in population does not make up for the greater number of car accidents.

5 Year Crash History	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
#1 Miami-Dade County	45,218	43,376	42,244	43,260	42,171
#2 Broward County	26,981	26,417	25,957	26,233	23,210

You don’t have to drive much in Miami to see cars change lanes without turn signals, yielding at stop signs (instead of stopping), speeding and drivers driving while texting. Even though these are bad driving habits you can see anywhere in Florida, Miami drivers do have another obstacle they regularly deal with – the poor road conditions.

It could be older roads that need to be repainted badly or confusing detours due to roads that are currently under construction. Now add in the high population and it is no surprise Miami-Dade leads all the counties in the state of Florida for number of car accidents.

The Miami New Times wrote a great article about Miami car accidents and the negligence the city has shown in providing safe road ways for its residents. They also requested information from the Miami-Dade Public Works Department to find out what are the most dangerous intersections in the county.

The Public Works Department did fail to provide information for Miami Beach and the City of Miami, but they did send over statistics for the rest of the county.

Even though the most dangerous intersection in Miami tends to change every year, there are 10 that seem to always be on the list:

SW 152 St., Kendall and SW 137 Avenue |Kendall
SW 152 Street and SW 117 Avenue |Kendall
NW 12 Street and NW 107 Avenue | Doral
SW 56 Street and SW 137 Avenue | Kendall
SW 72 Street and SW 117 Avenue | Kendall
NW 167 Street and NW 67 Avenue | Miami Lakes
NW 36 Street and NW 72 Avenue | Doral
SW 88 Street and SW 137 Avenue | Kendall
NW 12 Street and NW 187 Avenue |Doral
SW 72 Street and SW 107 Avenue | Kendall

If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident and are injured due to someone else’s negligence, you need to call the car accident attorneys at MADALON LAW. We will give you a free consultation and if we take your case we will pay all the fees of the case and will not bill you unless we win. Contact us to get answers about your car accident case.

What if the Light at the Intersection Malfunctioned?

What If the Light at the Intersectional Malfunctioned and Caused the Car Accident?Salman v. Cooper, 633 So. 2d 570 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

This lawsuit arose out of an intersection collision where an automobile passenger was injured in a two car accident. The automobile passenger, Leila Salman, sued her daughter (the operator of the vehicle in which she was riding) and Larry Baker (the driver of the second vehicle) alleging negligent operation by both defendants. She also sued Foreign Continental Cars Inc., the dealership who lent her daughter the car for a test drive and the car’s owner Betty Cooper. Cooper and the dealership were sued solely for vicarious liability based on Suzanne’s negligence.

This intersectional accident occurred at 7:00 p.m. as she made a left turn at the intersection of Federal Highway and Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach. Suzanne observed a green arrow before she began to turn but had not continued to look at the light as she was making the left turn. As Suzanne crossed the intersection, the vehicle was struck by Baker’s car while he was driving North on Federal Highway. Baker stated that the light turned green as he approached and crossed through the intersection at about 40 miles per hour. A witness, who was traveling north, stated that the light turned green and the car tried to turn before the oncoming cars began to move and supposed that someone going north must have gotten a jump start on the light because when the car began to turn they were hit.

Defendants argued that the jury could have properly found in favor of both defendants based on the doctrine of unavoidable accident and that the traffic lights might have malfunctioned due to the nearby construction, therefore Suzanne could have a green arrow while Baker had a green light with neither defendant at fault. The unavoidable accident doctrine is applicable only when the injury does not result from the negligence of either party. Under this doctrine an unavoidable accident occurs while all persons involved are exercising ordinary care, the accident is not caused by the fault of any of the persons. All persons are relieved of liability for the fact that they are not guilty of actionable negligence because the element of proximate cause does not exist from the lack of causal connection between the action and the damages sustained.

The court rejected these arguments stating that Suzanne testified that she hadn’t seen the arrow while she turned and even if the light had malfunctioned, with both drivers having green lights, one with the arrow and one with the green light, each of them still had the responsibility to exercise due care and to abide by traffic laws. The court stated that having a green light did not entitle Baker to enter the intersection without impunity and that a vehicle with a green light may proceed with caution but is required to yield the right of way to other vehicles and pedestrians lawfully in the intersection. The same applied to Suzanne, the driver with the green arrow, applying the additional requirements to yield to vehicles driving the opposite direction within the intersection, and vehicles close enough to constitute an immediate hazard. The court concluded that there was no evidence that the accident was unavoidable or was the result of intervening causes or any other cause besides the negligence of one of the defendants.

If you have been involved in a car accident in the state of Florida and have questions about negligence or steps you should take, contact the Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys of Madalon Law for a free consultation and they will gladly answer your questions.