JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville is seeing fewer crashes on the road this year, but more people are dying in those crashes.
The trend is raising questions about what factors are making some crashes more severe and what drivers can do to help prevent deadly outcomes.
So far this year, 108 people have died on Duval County roads, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. That number is slightly higher than this time last year.
At the same time, overall crashes are down by about 1,000 compared to this point last year.
JSO spokesperson Officer Christian Hancock told News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson that the fatal crashes investigators are seeing are not always happening in the areas where crashes happen most often.
“They don’t occur in your typical high-frequency crash areas, because those areas are -- when it’s very trafficky during early morning commutes or late afternoon commutes are when those high-frequency crash areas are more pronounced,” Hancock said. “These traffic homicides are not typically those types of crashes. They happen out in the outskirts and longer stretches, higher speeds, of course.”
Hancock added the time of year can also affect driving patterns. He says during the summer, when school is out, there are generally fewer vehicles on the road. While that can mean fewer crashes overall,
“Less vehicles on the road typically means fewer crashes,” Hancock said. “Unfortunately, on the other hand, less vehicles on the road sometimes equals higher speeds because there’s less traffic.”
JSO says another factor investigators continue to see in fatal crashes is impairment. Hancock said many of the traffic fatalities the agency investigates involve alcohol or drug use.
While investigators continue looking at crash patterns, JSO says it is also working to prevent dangerous driving.
The agency has more than 100 officers dedicated to traffic enforcement efforts across Jacksonville, including officers with the Traffic Unit, Motor Unit and DUI Unit.
Hancock says those officers work crashes, citations and enforcement efforts with the goal of slowing drivers down and reducing crashes on Jacksonville roads. But investigators say drivers also play a major role in preventing deadly crashes.
“We want them to be patient, right? We want them to leave early, give themselves a little more time,” Hancock said. “We want them to drive responsibly, meaning keep the cell phones down.”
JSO is reminding drivers to slow down, stay focused, buckle up and never drive impaired.