FORT MYERS, Fla. — In Florida, cyclist deaths impact more people than in any other state in the country.
Matt Scarborough legally represents cyclists in accidents. He works with Bicycle Accident Law.
“In 2022, we had roughly 65 to 66,000 bicycle accidents alone in the state of Florida," Scarborough said.
He says these statistics are according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
This danger is something cyclist Keith Lanza sees daily.
"I've been in some close situations, that’s where you learn people are not paying attention... especially at dark," Lanza said.
With populated roads and people in a rush, these accidents can happen to anyone.
“Believe it or not, we had 177 deaths in Florida. That's one almost every couple of days which are incredible statistics, and they quite honestly have been on the rise since COVID-19.”
Scarborough says cyclists need to follow all the same rules as cars, especially here in Southwest Florida.
“The more urban the area, of course, like the Fort Myers area, which I'm very familiar with, the more rate of accidents and deaths that you have," Scarborough said.
Keeping everyone safe on the roads is a collective effort.
“Drivers, put down your phone. Take a breath if someone does something wrong. A lot of the accidents we see are not just because of distraction. They're because of a bit of road anger or road rage. You might be upset with somebody... just let it go," Scarborough said.
Since 2018, 17 bicycle-involved crashes in Cape Coral have resulted in a fatality. Five of those fatalities happened in the first half of 2023.
