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Traffic Fatalities in Miami-Dade County
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Discusses ways of reducing traffic fatalities in Miami-Dade County.... More...
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8 sources, 14 Citations, APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses ways of reducing traffic fatalities in the Miami-Dade County region. Cites the higher than national average fatality rate on Florida highways, with Miami-Dade having the most traffic fatalities, most involving pedestrians. Impact of urban sprawl on traffic.

Paper Introduction:
Reducing Traffic Fatalities in Miami-Dade County In the past years traffic on the highways in South Florida issaid to have increased by percent and traffic is expected to continuegrowing in the future as more and more people move to this area Trafficvolumes already exceed vehicles per day on highways such asInterstate generating bumper-to-bumper traffic fender benders androad rage Sun Guide in South Florida p Traffic fatalitiesare of significance in the area and particularly in Miami-Dade County which serves as the focus of

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for pedestrian fatalities. The Miami Herald.com. Available at www.sunguide.org/aboutsun.htm.Viglucci, A. Walk at your own risk in state. Alcohol-related fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes: Florida FARS 2 1 (Final), 2 2 (ARF). (2 3). 1in both Broward and Miami-Dade countries is one of the most deadlinesstretches of road in the U.S. These researchersfound that of 29 cases studied prospectively, 3 or 1 percent occurred nearice cream trucks and 13 or 45 percent involved so-called "dart-outs" inwhich children who were unsupervised or poorly surprised, ran into thestreet and were hit by automobiles. Transportation Research Record, 1828. Most of these high-risk crossings are located in older urban core neighborhoods like SouthBeach and East Little Havana where more people walk than in suburban areassuch as Kendall. According to the U.S. In this general context, Espino, Gonzalez, and Gan (2 5) commentedthat the Florida Highway Safety Improvement Program is working tosystematically identify the pedestrian high-crash locations on statehighway systems. Theinitiative educates parents regarding proper vehicle placement andrestraint of children and has been successful in encouraging members ofthis at-risk population to safely restrain their young children. Secondly, re-engineering crossings where children andother pedestrians are most likely to cross heavily traveled streets isclearly indicated and likely to slow traffic by stoplights and therebyreduce fatalities. Viglucci(2 2) reported that the Miami-Ft. Department of Transportation (2 3), alcohol-related fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes in Miami-Dade County in2 1 were 118 deaths out of a total of 312 traffic fatalities. For the past several years, Miami-Dadeplanners have been assessing dangerous areas to determine pedestrian safetyissues and aggressively pursuing federal and state funding to begininstalling better pedestrian crossings along streets with the highestnumber of auto-pedestrian communities (Viglucci, 2 2). Available at www.nrd.nhts .dot.gov/pdf.Espino, E.R., Gonzalez, J.S., & Gan, A. Florida and other states have heavy fines in place that canand should be levied against adults who do not obey laws regarding seatbelts and car seats. A study by N.H. ReferencesCorazon de me vida. Trafficvolumes already exceed 2 , vehicles per day on highways such asInterstate 95, generating "bumper-to-bumper traffic, fender benders, androad rage (Sun Guide in South Florida, 2 5, p. The same report identified Miami-Dade Countyas the single county in Florida with the highest number of trafficfatalities in both years. Comparison of fatal traffic crashes in southern and northern regions of the state of Florida. Bicycle/pedestrian program. Indeed, Highway U.S. What this suggests is that more careful scrutinyof drivers and more aggressive law enforcement efforts to identify driversunder the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs would do much to bring downthe total number of traffic fatalities which occur each year in the area. (2 5). Under the aegis of theFlorida Department of Transportation, a review and analysis of trafficfatalities and truck crashes on Florida state roads was undertaken toidentify the contributing causes of fatal crashes and the possiblesolutions to these problems. Paper No. First, proper vehicular restraint of youngchildren is a primary line of defense against traffic injuries andfatalities. Third, vehicles such as ice cream trucks and schoolbuses that either appeal to or carry children should be equipped withsignage that identifies their presence to motorists. Urban sprawl andthe development of new highway systems without corresponding pedways orsidewalks is at fault. The goal of thereport is to identify both the extent of traffic fatalities in Miami-DadeCounty and to provide solutions to reducing these tragic automotiveaccidents. (2 3). Kadabagere (2 ) reported that the highway fatalityrate in the state of Florida is high, with 4 percent more fatalities pervehicle mile than the national average in 1999. The region is clearly troubled by anumber of problems related to urban sprawl and population growth amongwhich an increase in the number of vehicles and vehicle miles are to befound. Available at http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses /available/etd-11242 3-223938/.Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization. Available at www.nlci.org /kits/corazon%2 miami.htm.Department of Transportation. (1997). American Journal of Public Health, 94(4), 554-557.Kadabagere, N.H. Campaign seeks to reduce traffic fatality rates among Hispanics. (2 4). This report has focused on strategies that can reduce trafficfatalities in Miami-Dade County. These recommendations as described by Hameed, et al (2 4), speak toseveral important issues. According to this research, the Miami-DadeCounty region, which is primarily urban and in which over 26 million dailyvehicle miles are traveled, is home to a substantial number of trafficfatalities. What is therefore needed, in the view of plannersand policymakers in the area is more distinctive crosswalk signage andsmart signals that alert pedestrians as to the presence of vehicles on theroad. Once again, better signage, improvedenforcement of all regulations impacting upon both motorists andpedestrians, and improvements to pedestrian walkways were seen by theresearchers as likely to reduce pedestrian-auto crash fatalities. (2 1). Equally significant in theMiami/Dade area was the fact that one in every four at-fault drivers wasunder the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the accident.According to Kadabagere (2 3), the best line of defense against apotentially fatal traffic accident is wearing seat belts, which reduces thelikelihood of dying in a crash from 73 to 45 percent. Pediatric traffic fatalities and injuries in South Florida wereexamined by Hameed, Popkin, Johnson, and Cohn (2 4). Recommendations generated byHameed, et al (2 4) included engineering changes for dangerousintersections, enhanced education to encourage the use of pediatricrestraints in moving vehicles, and the equipping of ice cream trucks withextending stop signs. (2 2). Stricterlaw enforcement, reengineering of streets and crossings, improved signageand education, and outreach to at-risk groups are among the key strategiesthat have been used to good effect in this area. Available at www.miami.com /mld/miamiherald/news/state/4568128.htm?1c. 1)." Traffic fatalitiesare of significance in the area and particularly in Miami-Dade County,which serves as the focus of this particular report. Better mass transit and other basic improvements withrespect to highway lighting are also seen as likely to reduce the number oftraffic fatalities occurring on roads in this area. Available at www.trb.org.Hameed, S.M., Popkin, C.A., Johnson, E.W., & Cohn, S.M. Lauderdale area has the sixth highestrate of pedestrian fatalities in the United States. Male and younger drivers tended to be involved in fatal crashes mostfrequently and 44 percent of pedestrians in fatal crashes were found to beunder the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Identifyingpedestrian high-crash locations as part of Florida's highway safety improvement program. Other strategiesbeing employed or at least investigated to bring down the number of crashesinvolving pedestrians and motorists as well as bicyclers and motoristsinclude new bike trails and pedestrian walkways, outreach education,promotional brochures, and strict enforcement (Miami-Dade MetropolitanPlanning Organization, 1997). The epidemic of pediatric traffic injuries in South Florida: A review of the problem and initial results of a prospective surveillance strategy. Additionally, pediatric trafficinjuries and fatalities are also likely to be reduced quite significantlywhen young children are appropriately placed in age-specific and weight-specific car seats or other restraints. 3-4414. Florida is also home to a large and growing population of Hispanicresidents, among whom the death rate for motor vehicle crashes,particularly for children ages 5 to 12 is unacceptably high - 72 percenthigher than the rate for non-Hispanic children (Corazon de mi vida, 2 1).Some three years ago a campaign was launched to target this problem under agrant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Among the kinds of traffic fatalities that seem to be prominent inthe Miami-Dade region are fatalities involving pedestrians. (2 3). Finally, it is alsoquite clear that drivers who violate routine traffic signals (lights, stopsigns, and so forth) should be heavily penalized through fines or innecessary instances, incarceration. According to Kadabagere (2 3), the primary contributing factor inthe majority of the fatal crashes was human errors (e.g., driver errors innegotiating intersections and pedestrians violating vehicular right ofway). This has led to above average traffic fatalities and thedevelopment of a targeted campaign to reduce these fatalities. Reducing Traffic Fatalities in Miami-Dade County In the past 1 years, traffic on the highways in South Florida issaid to have increased by 3 percent and traffic is expected to continuegrowing in the future as more and more people move to this area. Available at www.miamidade .gov/mpo/mpo7-product-bpp.htm.Sun Guide in South Florida. Generally, the study found that there were 22 one-milesegments in Miami-Dade County in which high numbers of auto-pedestriancrashes took place in 1999. In the view of Viglucci (2 2), better enforcement by police whenmotorists fail to yield to pedestrians is also needed. In 2 2,this number increased to 136 alcohol-related deaths out of a total of 35 traffic accident fatalities.

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