According to preliminary data we received from the Florida Traffic Safety Dashboard,* the City of Miami Springs has seen a significant drop in the overall number of accidents in Miami Springs.
In the chart above, you can see that the number of reported car accidents peaked in 2015 with 605 reported accidents in Miami Springs. In the last two years before COVID, the number of accidents hovered between 574 in 2018 and 571 in 2019. In 2020, with the COVID lockdowns, we saw the number of car accidents drop to 406 or the lowest number since 2013. However, the report indicates Miami Springs dropped to just 250 accidents last year or the lowest number since 2012. That’s less than half the number of accidents we had in 2019.
The data also includes the number of crash fatalities per year. Between 2015 – 2020, Miami Springs had at least one fatal car accident each year. In 2019, we lost two teens in that horrific fiery wreck at the corner of NW 36th Street and Curtiss Parkway. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts by Virginia Gardens Mayor, Spencer Deno, and the Florida Department of Transportation, that intersection has been updated with a left on arrow only and has prevented many accidents. No doubt, this has contributed to the decline of accidents in Miami Springs last year.
Now, despite the drop in car accidents, the number of serious injuries went up last year. In 2019, the City of Miami Springs had 2 people with serious crash injuries. During the COVID lockdown year of 2020, serious injuries dropped to just one person. However, that number increased to three people last year. Nevertheless, that’s much better than the 6 people with serious injuries in 2018.
Despite the reported decrease in car accidents in Miami Springs last year, we know that the number of accidents on the Circle nearly doubled last year. As we reported last month, Miami Springs Police reported 15 accidents on the Circle in 2020. That number skyrocketed to 29 accidents on the Circle in 2021. That’s an average of one accident on the Circle every 13 days. Does anyone think that’s acceptable?
It would be great if the overall decrease in accidents in Miami Springs would transfer into lower insurance rates for Miami Springs drivers. However, due to increased repair and replacement costs, insurance rates will only continue to go up.
VIRGINIA GARDENS ACCIDENTS
Virginia Gardens is much smaller than Miami Springs, but does cover a significant portion of busy NW 36th Street. According to the same data we acquired from the Florida Traffic Safety Dashboard*, Virginia Gardens saw a significant increase in total crashes last year with 86 total crashes in 2021 compared to 62 accidents in 2020. However, that’s down from the 10 year record of 102 accidents back in 2016.
According to the report, the record lows were in 2017 and 2018 with just 19 and 7 accidents respectively in the Village of Virginia Gardens. Those numbers are so far below the normal trending, we question the validity of those numbers for that 2 year period. As you can see over the larger 10 year period, VG annual accidents hover between the low 60s and the low 80s.
Fortunately, VG doesn’t get a lot of serious injuries from car accidents. There were 4 reported serious injuries in 2013 in Virginia Gardens. That’s the most over the last 10 years. In fact, there were no reported injuries from accidents in VG between 2015 and 2020. However, last year, there were 3 reported serious crash injuries.
As for fatalities, there has only been one reported fatality in Virginia Gardens over the last 10 years and it happened in 2020…the year of the COVID lockdowns.
FLORIDA CRASH REPORT
You can view the complete Florida Crash Report at MiamiCars.com. You’ll see there was a significant increase in statewide crash fatalities in 2021.
*Preliminary data reported on the Florida Traffic Safety Dashboard (www.Signal4Analytics.com) is collected from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles which itself collects data from law enforcement agencies across the State of Florida. According to the Florida Traffic Safety Dashboard, “all data is considered preliminary until the year is reconciled and closed out by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and thus certain adjustments may be made to verify the data where clerical errors are noted.”
