Experts give tips for safe driving in Boca Raton – UNIVERSITY PRESS

During the spring 2024 semester, 26 car accidents were reported on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, public records show.

As students return to campus for the fall semester and traffic volumes increase, experts are offering driving safety tips to the university community.

One of them is Eric Dumbaugh, an FAU professor of urban and regional planning with 25 years of experience dealing with traffic-related deaths and injuries. He said he wouldn’t call the campus “particularly dangerous” and he would be surprised if there were any injuries or deaths in the reported car crashes.

Most car accidents on campus are minor and occur in parking lots – where the speed limit is 10 miles per hour – the FAU Police Department (FAUPD) said in an April 8 email.

Parking lot accidents are common, Dumbaugh said, because of the constant back-and-forth traffic and limited visibility when backing up. This can lead to rear-end collisions, often called fender bender, in which a vehicle moving forward strikes the rear of another car — which can cause injuries.

Dumbaugh says most car accidents are preventable, but there are several factors that come into play and can cause an accident.

Michael Vater, a licensed prosecutor in Florida, says distracted driving is a very likely cause of accidents. He reiterated that the most common accidents in Florida are fender bender cases and mentioned that he has represented several FAU students in such car accident cases.

“And what happens is that the driver is distracted, whether they’re using their phone, thinking about something else, or maybe talking to a passenger, and they don’t realize that the vehicle in front of them has come to a stop.” Said father.

Vater offers several tips for driving safely, such as using GPS for navigation, planning trips in advance, and avoiding driving while under the influence. He stresses that it’s important to be well prepared by familiarizing yourself with insurance details to handle injury situations and consider the potential legal consequences of a car accident.

“I would also recommend that you always drive very defensively when driving. Remember that the other drivers on the road are not as good as you and will cause accidents. Always keep a cool head and be prepared for what is happening around you,” said Father.

Dumbaugh points out that college students are often considered more prone to car accidents than any other age group. He also emphasizes that men in this age group are twice as likely to be involved in such accidents as women, and attributes this difference to differences in mental development.

He believes this increased risk in younger men is due to their tendency toward riskier behavior because their frontal lobe – which is crucial for decision-making – is not fully developed until their mid-twenties.

“They haven’t fully developed the kind of judgment that would cognitively prevent them from engaging in risky behavior,” Dumbaugh said. “So they tend to engage in more risk-taking behavior, riskier driving behavior. As a result, they disproportionately engage in complicated driving, statistically twice as often as women.”

Vater points out that another factor is the driver’s experience on the road. He believes FAU students coming from out of state may not be familiar with local traffic conditions in Boca Raton.

“Many of the students at FAU may not be used to knowing the specific driving rules and regulations in Florida, nor are they aware of how densely populated Boca Raton is,” Vater said.

Records from January 1 to April 2 show that the road with the most accidents was Glades Road 777, where a total of four car accidents occurred.

Dumbaugh stresses that public roads and university roads need to be separated when it comes to car accidents, especially in the case of Glades Road. He states that it is a road with high driving speeds and multiple turning lanes.

“There is a lot of traffic on Glades Road, which leads to things that we know can lead to accidents,” Dumbaugh said.

The roadway of North University Dr has three accidents. Parking Garage 1, Lot 7, NW 20th St and St Lucie Ave South has two accidents.

One crash was recorded at each of the following locations: FAU Blvd, East University, 3771 FAU Blvd, Brevard Ct, Lot 27, Lot 92, Lot 102/Parliament Hall, Tox Oxley Athletic Center, Volusia St, and parking lots 14 and 35.

According to FAUPD in the email, “Texting while driving is prohibited, it is the law.FS 316.305“ and everyone must obey the posted speed limits. According to FAUPD, signs have been placed in high-traffic areas to remind students, staff and visitors of the speed limit because FAU follows all Florida Department of Transportation guidelines regarding traffic signals.

Michael Cook is a news editor at University Press. For more information on this or other stories, please email [email protected].