The State of Florida tracks all traffic accidents as reported by local law enforcement agencies and state agencies such as the Florida Highway Patrol. The traffic data is used to prepare annual reports that are made available to the public.
The total traffic crashes for the State of Florida in 2005 was 268,605, which is a 6.2 percent increase compared to 2004.
Below is a summary of the traffic accidents that occurred in Alachua county Florida. Cities in Alachua County include: Alachua, Archer, Gainesville (County Seat), Hawthorne, High Springs, La Crosse, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo.
Gainesville had 2,494 car accidents in 2009 and as the largest city in Alachua County consistently has more than 50 percent of the crashes in the county. There were 811 DUI violations issued in Gainesville and 26,017 speed tickets issued in Gainesville in 2010.
There were 86,596 traffic tickets issued in Alachua county in 2005
2,379 of the traffic accidents in Alachua County were in Gainesville.
Following are noteable statistics from the statewide data that are of interest relative to Alachua County because of the college age popuplation in Gainesville.
21 year old drivers had the highest rate of traffic accidents that involved drinking alcohol and highest rate of fatalties that involved drinking and driving. Statewide there were 731 traffic accidents for drivers age 21 that involved alcohol and 38 fatalties for this age group.
20 Year old drivers had the second highest rates with 506 crashes and 29 deaths that involved drinking and driving.
These statistics are for the entire state of Florida not Alachua county specifically.
Drivers in Alachua County may have the option of complete a Florida traffic school course if they receive a speeding ticket, moving violation, or are in a car accident. Completing a State of Florida authorized traffic school class in most cases will allow a driver to avoid points on their Florida driver license and keep their car insurance rates from going up.