Increased Signage for Safer Driving

Recomendation for the Upcoming Tourist Season

No Knowledge, No Driving
The lack of regulation signs and the varied standards on signal
are contributing to hazardous driving conditions. Our team will
examine the circumstances of this project and determine the
need for change in traffic signal in Sarasota County.
Public safety is a concern on the road for every state. Florida is
unique in the fact that a large mass of the population of Florida
is not from the state. As a result, a lack of familiarization with
the roads and landscape is common with a lot of out-of-state
drivers. It is imperative that we increase awareness and the understanding of some of the laws in Florida that some of out-ofstate drivers may not be accustomed to. If we were to increase
the awareness regarding state laws, we would be able to make the
roads safer not only for the out-of-state drivers, but also for the
drivers already familiar with the driving laws.
With the number of visitors continuing to increase year after
year, it is now more important than ever to take action in this
crucial subject. Sarasota saw a rise in the number of visitors in
2013. All statistics show that the increase in visitors is only expected to grow, increasing the number of traffic accidents that
are caused by the lack of familiarity with the laws as well as the
roads.
Backing our recommendation, we view Sarasota County as being a Florida tourist destination. The local attractions are what
draws the hundreds of thousands of visitors. However, the roads
and the conditions cause unsafe driving situations and need to
accommodate the peak tourist season. The safety of both visiting
and local populations has become paramount as we see increas-

Methodology
The information will be collected via research on the internet.
The research consisted of reviewing how many accidents occurred in Sarasota County compared to the whole state of Florida. The research also included the reasons behind the accidents.
This research is used in many Law Firms throughout the state of

Figure 1. Sarasota County Fatal Accident Statistics for 1992-2009

"Sarasota County, Florida (FL)." Sarasota County, Florida Detailed Profile. City-Data, n.d. Web.

Florida and is used as an informative to the residents of Florida and Sarasota. First we started out by researching average
accidents in Florida a year, then we slowly narrowed the research down to Sarasota County.
Sarasota County accounted for 2% of the total number of
traffic accidents in 2012. That may not seem like very much
but consider this, the total amount of car crashes in florida
in 2012 totaled at 256,206. Despite Sarasota County fatal accident count being lower than the state of Florida, we remain
to be increasing in the amount. Comparing 1999 statistics to
2005, the average went from over the half mark to surpassing
the Florida average (Figure 1). That is quite a large number no
matter how you may look at it. With the number of visitors to
the state of Florida increasing that number is only expected to
rise as well.
Florida saw 72.6 million visitors during the first three quarters of 2013, the largest numbers in the states history for each
quarter. Thats up 3.4 percent compared to 2012 (Figure 2). The
highest occupancy month is March at 93.9 percent, the same
time Florida sees a spike in visitors. Its no coincidence that
these alarming statistics prove that the number of visitors in
Sarasota County have a contributing factor in the traffic accidents.
Proper precautions need to be taken in order to prevent some
of the traffic accidents here in southwest Florida. For instance
we can introduce a website highlighting some of the traffic laws
that some drivers out of state may not be familiar with in the
area. These statistics show how Floridas population is ballooning to all-time highs. These numbers indicate that the number
of traffic accidents in Florida, as well as Sarasota county, are
only expected to increase

Figure 2. Sarasota County Vs. Florida Car

3,452
Sarasota County

256,206
Florida

"Car Crash Statistics for Tampa, Florida. Dale Appell Injury Law Offices. Injury Attorney
Personel, n.d. Web.

Figure 3. "Record-breaking Tourism Year in 2013." HeraldTribune.com. Herald Tribune, n.d. Web

Results
The major result that came from the research presented is the lack
of knowledge in driving laws that has consequently contributed
to accidents. We have concluded that the visiting populations
are unfamiliar with local driving laws, and certainly unaware of
roads and the terrain of Sarasota County.
Since last year, Florida increased in accidents by compared to the
year 2012 (Figure 3). These statistics show how Floridas population is ballooning to all-time highs. As more visitors arrive, traffic
will need to be address. Traffic safety will negate any sort of tourism that Sarasota County is trying to portray.

Discussion
The need for informing the public about the traffic laws not only
stems towards the local population, but the visiting. 2013 proved
to be a record breaking year in regards to tourism. With more of
the incoming population driving through the county, there needs
to be more signage to allow for a more effortless flow instead of
confusion that many face while driving in the cities, and even
the rural areas of Sarasota County. The project in question needs
to address the uniformity of signs and their visuals to drivers of
Sarasota County.
Once implemented, having a standard for regulation signs and
keeping them frequent will show that there will be a decrease in
traffic accidents. As stated before, many accidents occur because
unfamiliarity with the area and the distraction of being uninformed of the laws and locations of important buildings. Many of
the signs will include, but are not limited to speed limits, regulation signs, and signs for important city locations.
There is a need for posting more of the lesser-known, but commonly encountered laws
The Slow Down and Move Over law, where a vehicle must
decrease the speed by twenty miles per hour and move out of
the lane closest to the police or emergency vehicles.
The Left Lane law states that slower traffic proceed on the
right of the left lane to allow for more traffic flow.

Speed limit signs are frequently neglected and many are unaware of the limit due to lack of signage.
Our team sees to improve current signage to enable more
visibility and create a higher standard to improve roads.
Increasing visibility and creating a standard increases knowledge of traffic laws.
Sign regulation will need to be addressed for uniformity and to
increase visibility:
Signs shall be used to inform road users of selected traffic
laws or regulations and indicate the applicability of legal requirements.
Signs shall be installed at or near where the regulations apply and shall be designed and installed to provide adequate
visibility and legibility in order to obtain compliance.
Signs shall be retroreflective or illuminated to show the
same shape and similar color by both day and night.
Sign illumination shall not be considered to be satisfied by
street, highway, or strobe lighting.

Conclusion
Our team views this project as an improvement on Sarasota County
roads. Traffic accidents will decrease after this project has concluded
from the time period of May 2014 to February 2015. This will enable
the improved signs to be used in time for the peak season of March.
Our team believes that Sarasota County needs this improvement due
to the rise of tourism in the past, and its continual increase. With increases in incoming populations, we will see more motor vehicles on
the roads in the years to come.
This project will be a simple investment that will yield large improvements. That is why it is now more important than ever to act on this
ever increasing dilemma. If action however is not taken, we will begin
seeing a rise in the number of traffic accidents as well as the number
of fatalities that go along with them.
In order to make the roads safer not only for out of state drivers but
local drivers as well, it is important that we take steps in helping drivers become more aware of their surroundings along with the traffic
laws that some may not be familiar with. Implementing new regulations for safer driving may be what it takes in order to get the roads
safer than what they are currently.
Now that we have discovered some of these startling statistics, we expect some sort of action to be taken here in the immediate future. We
look forward to hearing back from you and look forward to working
with you on this complicated but fixable subject.
.

Works Cited
"Car Crash Statistics for Tampa, Florida & Beyond from Tampa Auto
Accident Attorney Dale Appell, P.A." Dale Appell Injury Law Offices.
Injury Attorney Personel, n.d. Web.
"Record-breaking Tourism Year in 2013." HeraldTribune.com. Herald
Tribune, n.d. Web.
"Sarasota County, Florida (FL)." Sarasota County, Florida Detailed
Profile. City-Data, n.d. Web.