Seminole County has a pedestrian safety problem that its road infrastructure was not designed to solve. According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data, Seminole County consistently ranks among the top Florida counties for pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, a designation serious enough that the Sanford Police Department launched a dedicated traffic enforcement initiative specifically to protect pedestrians and cyclists that extended into 2026. Florida itself ranks second or third in the nation for pedestrian fatalities every year, with 779 pedestrian deaths statewide in 2023 and over 9,100 pedestrian crashes.
The pedestrian hazards in Seminole County are concentrated but persistent. US Highway 17-92, the primary north-south arterial through the county, carries heavy traffic at speeds hostile to anyone crossing on foot, and it runs through miles of commercial development that generates foot traffic from residents, workers, and diners who must cross a multi-lane highway to get between destinations. State Road 436 through Altamonte Springs and Casselberry presents similar conditions. The SunRail stations in Lake Mary and Sanford generate pedestrian activity in areas where the road network near the stations was not originally designed for that purpose. Downtown Sanford brings pedestrians into a narrow historic street environment on weekend evenings.
When a Seminole County resident or visitor is struck by a vehicle, Florida law provides specific protections and specific avenues for recovery. This guide explains how pedestrian accident law works in Florida, what makes the specific environments of Seminole County particularly hazardous, and what you need to do to protect your claim.
What Florida Law Requires of Drivers When Pedestrians Are Present
The Crosswalk Duty
Florida Statute 316.130(7) requires every driver approaching a crosswalk to yield the right of way to any pedestrian within the crosswalk or approaching closely enough to be in danger. This duty applies to both marked crosswalks, which are painted or otherwise designated on the road surface, and to unmarked crosswalks, which exist by operation of law at every intersection where two roads meet, whether marked or not.
On roads like US-17/92 and SR-436 that run through Seminole County’s commercial corridors, signalized crosswalks are the only designated crossing points for most of their length. Between those signalized crossings, pedestrians who need to cross face the choice of walking significantly out of their way or crossing without protection. When pedestrians cross at an unmarked location, the driver’s duty under Florida Statute 316.130(15) to use due care to avoid hitting any pedestrian still applies.
Due Care at Every Location
Florida Statute 316.130(15) requires that every driver exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian on any roadway and give warning by sounding the horn when necessary. This duty is not limited to crosswalks. It applies everywhere a vehicle operates on a public road. A driver who sees a pedestrian crossing mid-block and fails to slow down, take evasive action, or sound the horn has violated this duty regardless of the pedestrian’s own conduct.
The due care duty under Florida Statute 316.130(15) applies everywhere, not only at crosswalks. A driver who sees a pedestrian and fails to respond is negligent regardless of where the pedestrian was crossing. Even when a pedestrian is not in a legal crosswalk, the driver who hits them must have failed to exercise due care, which is a distinct and separately actionable negligence.
Comparative Fault on Seminole County Roads
Florida’s modified comparative fault standard under Florida Statute 768.81, as enacted by House Bill 837 in 2023, reduces a pedestrian’s recovery by their percentage of fault and bars recovery entirely if their fault exceeds 50 percent. A pedestrian who crosses US-17/92 mid-block, outside of a crosswalk, may be found partially at fault. The percentage assigned depends on the specific facts: how visible the pedestrian was, how much time the driver had to react, whether the driver was distracted, and how fast the driver was traveling.
The comparative fault analysis rarely eliminates recovery in pedestrian cases because drivers on Florida roads have an independent duty to observe pedestrians and respond. A driver traveling at 55 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone who strikes a mid-block pedestrian is not simply an innocent party who happened to encounter a jaywalking pedestrian. The speeding, the failure to see the pedestrian in time, and the failure to brake all constitute independent failures of the due care duty that shift fault back toward the driver.
Seminole County’s Most Dangerous Pedestrian Corridors
US Highway 17-92: The County’s Most Dangerous Road for Pedestrians
US Highway 17-92 is the most documented pedestrian hazard corridor in Seminole County. The road runs north to south through the county from Sanford through Lake Mary, Longwood, and Casselberry, carrying six lanes of traffic at speeds that do not leave adequate reaction time for drivers encountering unexpected pedestrians. Commercial development lines both sides of the road for virtually its entire length through the county, generating constant foot traffic from workers, residents, and diners who must cross the road to reach destinations on the opposite side.
The documented pedestrian casualty history on this corridor is serious. A 25-year-old cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run crash by a driver who fled the scene on US-17/92 in Seminole County, a crash documented in Florida Highway Patrol reports and confirmed in local news coverage. Pedestrian crashes at non-signalized locations along the corridor reflect the structural problem: commercial development that assumes pedestrians will be present alongside a road design that assumes they will not.
Signalized pedestrian crossings on US-17/92 through Seminole County are spaced inconsistently, with some segments having crossings every few blocks and others requiring pedestrians to walk a quarter mile or more to reach a protected crossing. When pedestrians cross between these signals, the due care duty under Florida Statute 316.130(15) still applies to every driver on the road.
State Road 436: Altamonte Springs and Casselberry
SR-436 through southwestern Seminole County is the county’s second most active commercial arterial and its second most significant pedestrian hazard corridor. The road runs through Altamonte Springs and Casselberry past Altamonte Mall, the Altamonte Springs SunRail station, and dense restaurant, bar, and retail development on both sides. Pedestrian crossings between the mall complex and adjacent commercial areas, between bus stops and destinations, and between residential neighborhoods and the commercial corridor all generate foot traffic that the road was not designed to accommodate safely.
The Lake Mary SunRail Station Corridor
The Lake Mary SunRail station on Lake Mary Boulevard is surrounded by the Heathrow corporate corridor, whose working population generates midday and evening pedestrian activity near the station. The approach roads to the station sit on Lake Mary Boulevard, a road that Seminole County documented as having significant speeding and crash problems. Pedestrians walking from nearby businesses and hotels to the station cross roads where drivers are not accustomed to high pedestrian volumes and where the posted speed limit does not reflect how drivers actually travel.
The Sanford SunRail Station and Historic Downtown
The Sanford SunRail station on Persimmon Avenue is the northern anchor of the SunRail system and sits adjacent to historic downtown Sanford, the most active pedestrian destination in the county. Commuters, tourists visiting the downtown waterfront, and residents walking between the station and the entertainment and dining district all contribute to a pedestrian environment on roads that were not designed for the pedestrian volumes they now carry.
Historic downtown Sanford’s narrow streets, on-street parking, and significant nighttime bar and restaurant crowd create conditions where pedestrians and vehicles share limited space at hours when visibility is reduced. First Street and its adjacent blocks generate regular weekend pedestrian traffic that extends well beyond the sidewalk capacity of the historic downtown street grid.
Residential Areas with Limited Sidewalk Infrastructure
Seminole County’s older residential neighborhoods, particularly those in Casselberry, Longwood, and parts of Sanford that predate current sidewalk standards, include streets with no sidewalks at all. Residents who must walk along these roads, including children walking to school, elderly residents accessing nearby businesses, and workers without vehicles, do so on road surfaces shared with moving traffic. Florida law requires drivers to exercise due care to avoid pedestrians in all of these locations, but the absence of sidewalk infrastructure creates hazards that the due care standard alone cannot fully address.
The Severity of Pedestrian Crash Injuries
The injuries sustained when a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle almost universally satisfy Florida’s serious injury threshold under Florida Statute 627.737. A pedestrian has no protection against the forces of a vehicle impact. The weight of the vehicle, typically 3,000 to 5,000 pounds or more for trucks and SUVs, and its speed at the moment of impact are transferred directly to the pedestrian’s body. The secondary impact with the road surface, whether asphalt, concrete, or curb, adds to the injury profile.
Traumatic brain injuries from the primary impact and the ground impact, spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries, pelvic and femur fractures, internal organ damage, and severe soft tissue injuries are all common outcomes of significant pedestrian crashes. Many of these injuries require extended hospitalization, surgical intervention, and rehabilitation. Some produce permanent impairment that limits the victim’s ability to work and to participate in daily activities for the remainder of their life.
Because the serious injury threshold is satisfied in virtually every significant pedestrian crash, the legal fight in these cases focuses on liability and the full scope of damages rather than on whether a threshold is met. Establishing what the driver did wrong, what the pedestrian’s damages amount to across their lifetime, and what the at-fault driver’s or their insurer’s available coverage is are the central questions.
PIP, Insurance Coverage, and Pedestrian Claims
Florida’s no-fault PIP system interacts with pedestrian accident claims in a way that is different from standard car accident claims and that is frequently misunderstood.
A pedestrian who has a Florida auto insurance policy with PIP coverage can generally access their own PIP after being struck by a vehicle, even though they were not in a vehicle at the time. Florida Statute 627.736 extends PIP benefits to the insured as a pedestrian in many circumstances. This can provide the injured person with up to ten thousand dollars in medical expense coverage and sixty percent of lost wages regardless of fault while the claim against the at-fault driver is pursued.
A pedestrian who has no Florida auto insurance policy must look primarily to the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage for compensation. Since Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability insurance, a pedestrian struck by an uninsured driver with no bodily injury coverage and who has no own auto policy may face the most difficult coverage situation of any accident victim type. In this situation, the at-fault driver’s personal assets become the target of recovery, which may require a civil lawsuit if the driver cannot be persuaded to settle.
Road Design and Government Liability
Some pedestrian crashes in Seminole County are caused not only by driver inattention but by the structural failure of road design to provide adequate pedestrian infrastructure. When a government entity responsible for road design and maintenance has created or failed to remedy a known hazard, a claim against the government may be available alongside the claim against the driver.
Florida Statute 768.28 governs claims against state and local government entities. These claims require a pre-suit notice of claim filed within three years of the incident, after which the government entity has six months to investigate and respond before a lawsuit can be filed. Recovery against a government entity is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident unless the legislature approves a claims bill for a higher amount.
Evidence that a government entity was aware of a pedestrian safety problem at a specific location and failed to act on it, such as prior crash reports, citizen complaints, or internal traffic studies documenting the hazard, is directly relevant to a government liability claim. When Seminole County’s own records document speeding and crash problems on a corridor like Lake Mary Boulevard, or when FLHSMV crash data shows a documented pedestrian crash pattern at a specific intersection, that evidence supports the argument that the road’s condition was a known and unremedied hazard.
What to Do After Being Hit by a Driver in Seminole County
Call 911 and Get a Crash Report
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office handles crashes in unincorporated areas. Lake Mary Police, Sanford Police, Casselberry Police, Longwood Police, and other municipal agencies cover crashes within their respective city limits. A law enforcement crash report is essential documentation for both the insurance claim and any civil action.
Document the Scene and Surrounding Area
Photograph the vehicle that struck you, its position relative to crosswalk markings or the absence of them, the road conditions and sight lines, any traffic signals or signs in the area, and any security cameras you observe on adjacent businesses or properties. On US-17/92 and SR-436, business surveillance cameras are common and may have captured the crash. Footage retention windows are typically 24 to 72 hours.
Get Emergency Medical Treatment
Pedestrian crash injuries are frequently severe and may not fully present immediately. Go directly to an emergency room or call for an ambulance. Document your injuries at the earliest opportunity, as contemporaneous medical records are essential to connecting your injuries to the crash.
Consult an Attorney Before Speaking to the Driver’s Insurer
The at-fault driver’s insurance company will contact you. Under Florida’s modified comparative fault standard, any statement you make that suggests you were crossing in an irregular location, that you did not use a crosswalk, or that you were not paying full attention can be used to push your fault percentage upward. An attorney can advise you on what communications to have and what to avoid.
Graves Law Represents Seminole County Pedestrian Accident Victims
Graves Law is based in Lake Mary and handles pedestrian accident claims throughout Seminole County, including crashes on US Highway 17-92, State Road 436, Lake Mary Boulevard, and in and around Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Casselberry, Winter Springs, and Oviedo. We represent residents and visitors injured while on foot on Seminole County roads, and we pursue the full compensation Florida law provides.
We understand the specific hazards of the US-17/92 corridor, the pedestrian exposure near the SunRail stations, and the road design issues that contribute to pedestrian crashes in this county. When a driver’s failure to exercise due care caused your injuries, we fight for accountability and for the full value of your damages. There is no fee unless we recover for you. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Call or text: (407) 308-0327
Free consultations. No fee unless we win.