In Coconut Creek, car accidents claim lives and cause injuries each year. However, car manufacturers and the auto industry are always working on developing new safety systems to reduce the risk of injury. Despite this, some of the systems which help prevent head injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries are systems which have been around for years.
When driving in a car with children, it’s important children ride in the back and are securely placed in an age-appropriate child safety system, whether that’s an infant car seat, booster, or other device. These devices can help reduce the risk of serious injuries.
No matter what kind of precautions you take, however, there is no doubt car accidents in Hollywood pose a huge risk to children. In fact, they are among the leading causes of accidental injury to children and minors in Hollywood and Florida.
In Coral Gables and across South Florida, parents and caretakers routinely take children to doctor’s appointments, school, after-school events, and on trips. Many drivers don’t consider that being a passenger is one of the riskiest moments of a child’s life, with car collisions being a leading cause of childhood injury in Coral Gables and Florida.
Unfortunately, child passengers are especially vulnerable in car collisions. Their smaller size can mean they are risk of serious injury and cars are created for adult passengers, so children can sustain serious injuries if they don’t have child-appropriate safety seats. A serious injury can also impact a child’s entire life and even affect future career and personal opportunities, so the losses of child injuries can be very high.
The back-to-school routine and morning commute can always feel hectic. Car accidents in Homestead and across southern Florida often occur during the morning commute, thanks to a combination of distraction, fatigue, rushing, and the general chaos of the morning hour. This year, the back-to-school driving routine can become even riskier because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because:
Child passengers face some unique risks when it comes to Homestead car accidents. The smaller bodies of children are more likely to be adversely affected by crashes and children have little say about who drives them. Parents have a responsibility to ensure those who transport their children are safe.
Moreover, parents have a duty to teach car safety early. Children start learning about road safety long before they apply for a driver’s permit at age 16. Kids also need to learn how to stay safe around cars so they can safely navigate being a pedestrian. Here’s how you can make sure your children grow up ready to live near cars:
Long before your children are old enough to drive in Hollywood, they will be in cars, being ferried to and from school and activities. They are still at risk of car accidents. Even more importantly, children are watching everything—including the driving habits of the adults who drive them around. They are forming their ideas of what driving should look like.
For these reasons, it’s imperative that you talk to your children about road safety, even if their sixteenth birthday is still a long way off. Some of the topics you should cover include:
Getting your kids to and from school can be the most dangerous part of their day. Car accidents in Hollywood and South Florida are a leading cause of injuries and accidents involving young children.
The extra traffic on the road during the school morning and afternoon rush can increase your risk of a car accident and if you are in a collision with your children in the car, they can be thrown around and may suffer serious head injuries, back injuries, and other serious injuries.
Now that we are headed back to school, most parents need to think about the school commute. For many children and families in Hollywood and South Florida, this is the riskiest part of the day. Heavy morning and afternoon traffic as well as congestion at school drop off and pick up zones can mean pedestrian accidents and car accidents are a greater danger.
School bus injuries, car accidents, and pedestrian accidents can lead to a range of devastating injuries, including head injuries, fractures, sprains and other serious injuries. During the school year, parents on the morning and afternoon commute are competing with other workers, other parents, and school buses who are all sharing the road. Here’s how to make your commute safer:
Many people realize distracted driving collisions in Homestead and other Florida communities can be caused by mobile devices and texting, but few people see children as the culprits. Yet research shows that children are a major cause of distracted driving. According to a Monash University Accident Research Center, children can be up to 12 times more distracting than a cell phone.
Even worse, children are more vulnerable in a distracted driving collision. Their smaller bodies may be more impacted by a sideswipe accident or head-on crash. They may not know how to brace themselves or may be leaning out of their car seats or moving around, which can make their injuries worse.
For years, educational campaigns have focused on teaching children and teens not to get in the car with a drunk driver. These campaigns have worked to reduce instances of drunk driving in Hollywood, Homestead, and other communities across Florida and across the country.
However, some experts say these efforts do not go far enough, especially with distracted driving being such a concern right now. A distracted driver can be just as dangerous as a drunk driver. In fact, studies have shown that distracted drivers have slower response times and similar accident rates as inebriated drivers.
Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog