OCALA, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol said an SUV collided with a Marion County school bus on Tuesday, Ocala-News.com reports.
The vehicles were both headed west on State Road 40 when the crash happened at the intersection with SW 140th Avenue shortly before 5 p.m.
According to the FHP, the driver of the SUV stopped for traffic at the intersection but the driver of the school bus directly behind it could not stop in time and crashed into the back of the SUV.
Golf carts are now permitted to cross one of the area’s busiest roadways in New Port Richey, U.S. 19.
The city of New Port Richey began allowing crossings on U.S. 19 and Gulf Drive in July.
Since numerous golf cart users wanted more access to the downtown area as well as other places east of U.S. 19, the city made the change.
Following a traffic analysis, the state had to grant the city approval to permit the crossing. The installation of golf cart signs at the intersection was subject to permission.
However, it does raise some safety issues because of the high speeds and frequent accidents on U.S. 19 in Pasco County.
It is advised for golf cart users to wear their seatbelts and make sure their blinkers are fully functioning before they attempt to cross U.S. 19.
New Port Richey is also developing a crossing at Marine Parkway that would allow golf cart users from Gulf Harbors to cross U.S.19.
The golf carts travel across the major roadway like any other vehicle, abiding by the same traffic regulations as regular motorists.
U.S. 19 in Pasco County is considered one of the most dangerous stretch of roadways in America, so it will certainly be interesting to see how adding golf carts to the mix will play out.
A car can easily overtake a golf cart, and crossings can be hazardous. Additionally, given that cars and trucks move much more quickly than golf carts do on the road, drivers must take extra caution to avoid hitting cars, trucks, motorcycles, delivery vehicles, bikers, and even pedestrians.
Golf cart collisions can be fatal or cause a variety of serious injuries. The following are some of the most frequent injuries:
Our New Port Richey Personal Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton proudly represent injured passengers, pedestrians, and motorists hurt in golf cart accidents. We can provide a thorough and completely free legal review of your injury claim and help you pursue the settlement you deserve. Continue reading
LEVY COUNTY, FL – A driver was killed in a crash in Levy County near the Alachua County line Monday evening, WCJB reported.
The Florida Highway Patrol and county sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene on County Road 241 after the accident occurred at about 6 p.m.
State troopers said an 85-year-old man was driving a van south when he went off the roadway and onto a grass shoulder. The vehicle then struck a fence and a tree.
Two airboats collided at Wild Florida, a nature park that provides gator encounters, a safari, and Everglade airboat rides, on Monday around 12:15 p.m., injuring 13 people.
The nature park is in Kenansville, near Orlando, on Lake Cypress.
The cause of the collision is unknown, and the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit is leading the investigation. In response to the event, Wild Florida has halted all airboat operations until further notice.
ZEPHYRHILLS, FL – A multi-vehicle accident in Pasco County on Friday afternoon left one of the drivers dead, Lutz Patch reported.
The crash happened on Eiland Boulevard near Fountain Road in Zephyrhills at about 1:33 p.m. The Florida Highway Patrol said a man was driving eastbound in a pickup truck when he suffered a medical emergency and crossed over the center line.
The pickup struck the front of a van and an SUV that were both going west. The driver of the pickup, a 50-year-old man from Wesley Chapel, was pronounced dead after being rushed to an area hospital.
OCALA, FL – The Ocala Police Department was called to the scene of a fatal railroad accident on Thursday afternoon, WKMG reports.
The incident happened near the 2000 block of NE 19th Avenue in northeast Ocala, where officers arrived at the scene at about 12:30 p.m.
Police said a man was struck at the railroad crossing by an eastbound CSX train going from Lakeland to Jacksonville. The 33-year-old pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not immediately released.
PASCO COUNTY, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol said a woman was killed when the ambulance transporting her was struck by another vehicle.
WTSP reported details of the incident that occurred Tuesday evening at the intersection of State Road 54 and Morris Bridge Road in Pasco County.
An investigation determined that a Pasco County Fire Rescue ambulance was going south on Morris Bridge Road with its emergency sirens on while rushing the patient to the hospital. The driver of a Toyota Corolla was going east on State Road 54 and had a green light but did not yield to the ambulance.
Senate Bill 766, a new law, allows school districts to install cameras on the outside of school buses to assist in reducing the number of people who pass buses with their stop arms raised.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office issued 26 traffic penalties last school year for people illegally passing school buses with stop signs displayed.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office issued 126 citations.
Due to these infractions, SB766 became a hot topic in some districts that wanted to implement it and increase safety for children on and off school buses.
Before the law was proposed, Brevard County’s public school system tested safety cams.
Bus drivers in the county average between 100 and 200 miles a day, depending on whether they also drive for the after-school program, according to reports. In this specific school system, which has over 70,000 kids, 21,000 are transported by buses.
By installing cameras on 10 of their buses during the 2022-2023 academic year, BCPS evaluated the idea that exterior cameras would be helpful as part of a pilot program with a business named Bus Patrol.
There were 5,361 violations issued throughout the duration of the experimental program last year, or around 3.8 violations per day.
According to reports, the district is committed to installing cameras on each of its school buses as a result of the pilot program’s success. The time frame of the installation of these cameras is unknown currently.
Florida School Bus Laws for Drivers
In Florida, passing a stopped school bus with the STOP arms raised and the red lights flashing will result in four points on your license, a minimum fine of $165, and the necessity to complete a basic driver improvement course. Passing on the side where kids enter and exit can cost you at least $265 in fines.
Florida has severe penalties for drivers who pass school buses and injure or kill someone else. These include a $1,500 fine, six points on your license, a year-long license suspension, 120 hours of community service in a trauma hospital setting, attendance at a victim impact panel meeting, and/or a driver improvement course. Continue reading
OCALA, FL – A tractor-trailer accident in Ocala Monday night left a driver injured and caused shutdowns on U.S. 27, WKMG reported.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the 38-year-old truck driver was headed south on Interstate 75 at about 11:15 p.m. and was trying to change lanes when he hit a vehicle in the next lane that he had failed to observe.
When the truck driver swerved to his right, he struck a concrete barrier wall on the shoulder, causing the trailer to detach from the cab and roll over the wall. The trailer spilled rock-form sulfur onto U.S. 27.
As the 2023-24 school year begins, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) and AAA advise drivers to be cautious around schools and buses.
With the start of the new school year, approximately 2.8 million children in Florida are heading to their classrooms, and the combination of young, inexperienced drivers, walkers, and bicyclists who will all share the road in the early morning and afternoon hours is especially perilous, according to AAA.
In 2021, 64% of child pedestrians killed in automobile accidents happened during the week from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Friday, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
According to AAA, nearly one in every four fatal collisions involving teen drivers in the United States occur between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
According to the FLHSMV, about 3,000 crashes involving school buses occurred in 2022.
According to a recent AAA poll, 38% of drivers acknowledged to speeding and 31% admitting to using a hand-held cell phone in active school zones.
According to the FLHSMV, vehicles must pay special attention to lower speed limits, watch for, and follow school crossing guard signals, and only drive or park in permitted places to pick up or drop off children at school. Parents are also asked to discuss safety precautions with their children to ensure their children’s safety near school buses and school zones.
If you are caught by police passing a stopped school bus in Florida (this means the bus has its red lights flashing and STOP arms raised), you can receive a mandatory requirement to take a basic driver improvement course, four points on your license, and at least a fine of $165. Passing on the side where children enter and exit will result in a minimum fine of $265.
If a driver passes a school bus and causes serious bodily harm or death to another person in Florida, the penalties are steep, including 120 hours of community service in a trauma-type hospital setting, attendance at a driver improvement course or be present at a victim’s impact panel session, six points on your driver’s license, a one-year license suspension, and a $1,500 fine.
Our Florida Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Whittel & Melton want everyone to head back to school safely this year. Here are a few tips we have compiled that we hope serve as a reminder to you and your loved ones about the importance of pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist safety.
