While any roadway or intersection can be dangerous, some are unsafe by design, caused by heavy traffic, and many other factors. In the St. Pete area, Forward Pinellas has designated 164 miles of Pinellas County roads as a High Injury Network. Although the network represents just 4% of the county roadways, it accounted for nearly 60% of all fatal and serious injury crashes between 2020 and 2024.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident in one of these high-risk areas or anywhere around St. Pete, you may have a personal injury claim against the party at fault. That may not only include the other driver but also a government entity if a dangerous roadway condition contributed to the crash. However, claims against government entities are subject to special requirements and shorter deadlines in Florida, making it important to consult an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.
What Are the Most Dangerous Roads in St. Petersburg?
Using Forward Pinellas’ latest data, several St. Pete roadways in the High-Injury Network are among the area’s most dangerous roads, including:
- U.S.19/34th Street
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street
- 4th Street South
- 18th Avenue South
- 5th Avenue North
Other dangerous streets include:
- 38th Avenue North
- US-92/4th Street
- Central Avenue
Most Dangerous Intersections in St. Petersburg
Forward Pinellas reports that, per its most recent dataset, the most dangerous intersections in St. Pete include:
- U.S. 19/34th Street North and Central Avenue
- U.S. 19/34th Street South and 1st Avenue South
- U.S. 19/34th Street North and 5th Avenue North
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South and 22nd Avenue South
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South and 18th Avenue South
- U.S. 19/34th Street South and 18th Avenue South
Other dangerous intersections include:
- U.S.19/34th Street North and 38th Avenue North
- U.S. 19/34th Street North and 22nd Avenue North
- U.S.19 ALT and 5th Avenue North
- U.S. 92 and 38th Avenue North
- SR-693/66th Street North and 22nd Avenue North
- 4th Street and Central Avenue
St. Petersburg Road Safety Statistics
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that there were 13,580 crashes in Pinellas County in 2025, the most recent year with reasonably complete data. These collisions resulted in 96 fatalities and 8,253 injuries of all kinds. Pinellas County crash statistics further show there were 373 motorcycle crashes that caused 15 deaths, 482 pedestrian collisions that resulted in 30 deaths, and 824 bicycle crashes that claimed 15 lives. Hit-and-run crashes accounted for another 3,628 collisions, resulting in 683 injuries and six fatalities. According to the data, total crashes were distributed fairly equally throughout the year, with peaks in March, April, and May.
Furthermore, Smart Growth America named the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater area is the 8th most dangerous metropolitan region for pedestrians nationwide in its 2024 Dangerous by Design report. The organization noted that nearly 600 pedestrians were killed in the area between 2018 and 2022, up from 500 in the previous five-year window. The only Florida metro region that is more deadly for pedestrians is the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach region, with a fatality rate of 3.96 per 100,000 people.
The hopeful news from Forward Pinellas is that the county has seen a significant decline in the number of fatal accidents over the last decade. For example, there were 1,119 fatal and serious injury crashes county-wide in 2016. By 2024, that number had been cut almost in half, to 696 fatal and serious injury crashes. However, the organization notes that motorists, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists all remain at heightened risk of serious injury.
How Can a St. Petersburg, Florida Car Accident Lawyer Help?
If you suffered injuries on one of the most dangerous roads in St. Pete, you could be entitled to compensation. However, accident victims can run into challenges when dealing with insurance companies. If your case involves a government agency, the requirements get more complex. Under Florida Statutes § 768.28, an injury victim may be entitled to bring a personal injury or wrongful death claim against government entities, but subject to written notice requirements and deadlines that can affect your right to pursue compensation.
The St. Petersburg car accident lawyers at Holliday Karatinos Law Firm can help by:
- Reviewing your case to identify liable parties
- Identifying relevant deadlines and meeting special notice requirements for claims against government entities
- Thoroughly investigating the accident to recover critical evidence
- Reviewing construction or maintenance records to understand whether a poorly maintained roadway was a factor in the collision
- Working with crash reconstruction experts, when needed, to interpret technical evidence and testify about relevant factors, including whether unsafe road design contributed to the crash
- Calculating a full and fair estimate of the value of your case
- Negotiating aggressively for a settlement that compensates you fairly
- Taking your case to trial if the other side refuses to make you a fair offer
Because we work on contingency, we don’t charge any attorney fees unless we win your case.
Why Choose Us?
With over 50 years of collective experience, our Pete car accident attorneys are trusted advocates for Florida’s injured. Our case results include successful recoveries for numerous injury victims, including one $694,500 motor vehicle settlement and another $600,000 car accident recovery for a separate client. While no attorney can ethically guarantee a favorable outcome or similar results in your case, we pledge to use our experience and resources to pursue the best possible outcome for you.
Our experienced attorneys have received numerous recognitions by esteemed legal organizations and rating services, including Super Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, as well as recognition for one of the Top 100 Jury Verdicts in Florida for 2021 by TopVerdicts.com.
Contact us today for a free consultation about your case. There is no obligation and no attorney’s fees unless we win, so there’s nothing to lose.
James Wayne Holliday
James Wayne Holliday has been practicing law since 1995. He has been named as a “Best Attorney” Lifetime Charter Member in Florida, an honor awarded to less than one percent of the nation’s lawyers.
Mr. Holliday has earned a reputation as a relentless trial lawyer because of his outstanding work ethic and thorough preparation of his cases for trial.
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