WHAT IS
SEE THE BLINDSPOTS?
BLIND SPOT:
A SUBJECT SOMEONE IS UNEDUCATED ABOUT
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TAMPA - A 44-year-old man was hit by a car and killed while trying to cross West Hillsborough Avenue on Saturday night, police said
The incident happened about 9:40 p.m., when the man was trying to cross Hillsborough at North MacDill Avenue, police said. He stepped into the path of a 1996 Honda heading west on Hillsborough.
The Tampa Police Department has not identified the man.
Take steps to learn more. -> FDOT
There are over 120 bicycle fatalities on Florida roadways each year, which is more than double the national average of bicycle fatalities per capita. Negligent motorists must be held accountable for their actions, but in many cases, carelessness is a two-way street.
According to a published guide from the Florida Bicycle Association, bicyclists are at fault in seventy percent of all police-reported crashes because they violated traffic rules. And a recent report from Hillsborough County states that over 25% of crashes are primarily caused by bicyclists either darting out into traffic midblock or failing to yield the right-of-way at signalized intersections.
We love that you bike. You're doing a healthy thing for yourself and our planet. But when you operate a vehicle - yes, a bicycle is a vehicle - you need to know the rules. It could save your life.
TAMPA - A bicyclist last weekend improperly crossed a street into the path of a pickup truck that struck and killed him, police said.
The man violated the right of way about 8 p.m. Saturday when he crossed W Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and headed north in the eastbound lanes of Tampania Avenue. A 2003 Ford F250 hit his bicycle.
No charges were filed against the truck's driver. This is at least the 15th bicyclist to be killed since July [2001] while riding in Tampa Bay.
You can survive a car crash. But you'll never recover if you kill a pedestrian or bicyclist.
Cars are safer than ever before. But there isn't an advanced safety feature in the world that can protect us from drivers who still don't get it. Speeding, texting, driving under the influence, failing to yield at an intersection, turning into the path of a pedestrian or bicyclist... cars may be getting smarter, but drivers are not.
We're killing nine of our fellow pedestrians each week. With our cars. And our ignorance. Put down the phone. Call a cab. Keep it under the speed limit.
Be alert. You're the one in the car, so you're the one with the greatest responsibility.
Motorist Failed to Yield at a Signalized Intersection
One A Motorist drives through a red signal without stopping. The motorist could be speeding and unable to stop in time, trying to get through the intersection on a yellow or amber signal indication, disregarding the signal, or failing to see the red signal.
One B The motorist drives out after stopping for a red signal, into the path of an oncoming bicyclist. The motorist may be making a right turn on red and fails to look to the right to see an approaching bicyclist. The bicyclist could be riding the wrong way in either the roadway or on the sidewalk.
TAMPA - Two Marriott Waterside employees walking across the Harbour Island bridge after work were killed when a speeding driver lost control and hit them, police said.
The crash happened just before 2 a.m. when a black, two-door Cadillac traveling at a high rate of speed southbound onto Harbour Island lost control and ended up on the sidewalk.
Police say the driver hit the two pedestrians. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the driver and two passengers had to be extricated from the car, but were otherwise not hurt.
A look at the driver's past driving record shows multiple speeding infractions.
He has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, two counts of DUI manslaughter, DUI with injury and battery on a law enforcement officer. Results of a blood-alcohol test are pending.
Tampa police say they've been busy investigating deadly wrecks lately.
"In the last 24 hours we've had three traffic crashes and they have resulted in four traffic deaths," Lt. Ron McMullen of the Tampa police department said Saturday.
Let's reduce the speed of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths.
See The Blindspots is a pedestrian and bicyclist safety campaign developed for Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 7, which comprises of the Tampa Bay area... where, in 2009, pedestrians were injured every 7 hours.1
These are alarming numbers. But when looked at statewide, the impact is even more staggering. So we're presenting data for the Tampa Bay area, as well as the state of Florida. Because once you See The Blindspots here, you can help Floridians see them everywhere.
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