May 28, 2026
Jacksonville is one of the largest cities by land area in the contiguous United States. That size, combined with a road network that mixes high-speed interstate corridors, dense urban intersections, and suburban sprawl across Duval, St. Johns, and Clay Counties, creates a driving environment with its own specific hazards.
We handle car accident cases throughout this area. The causes we see most often aren’t random. They follow patterns. Understanding those patterns matters both for staying safe and for understanding what drove your accident if you’ve already been hurt.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is the leading cause of car accidents in Florida and nationally, and Jacksonville is no exception. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles consistently ranks distracted driving among the top crash causes statewide.
Cell phone use is the most visible form, but distraction includes anything that takes a driver’s attention off the road: eating, adjusting navigation, reaching for something in the back seat, conversations with passengers. At highway speeds, looking away from the road for five seconds covers the length of a football field.
In Jacksonville, distracted driving crashes cluster heavily around high-traffic corridors like I-95, I-295, Beach Boulevard, and Phillips Highway, where traffic moves fast and reaction time matters. We routinely see rear-end collisions on these roads where the following driver simply wasn’t watching.
Cell phone records subpoenaed during litigation tell the story clearly. If a driver was on a call or texting at the moment of impact, that data exists and it’s recoverable.
Speeding
Speed increases both the likelihood of a crash and the severity of injuries when one happens. The physics are straightforward: a faster vehicle takes longer to stop, and the force of impact rises exponentially with speed.
Jacksonville’s interstate system sees chronic speeding, particularly on I-95 through downtown and the stretch of I-295 that circles the city. But speeding on surface roads through neighborhoods and commercial corridors causes just as many serious accidents. The posted limit on a road like San Jose Boulevard or Philips Highway doesn’t stop drivers from pushing well above it.
Establishing speeding as a cause of your accident often comes down to physical evidence: skid mark length, crush depth on the vehicles, event data recorder readings from the at-fault vehicle, and witness accounts of speed before impact. This is exactly the kind of technical analysis that Michael McCabe’s engineering background is built for.
Running Red Lights and Stop Signs
Intersection crashes are among the most violent. T-bone collisions at speed produce serious injuries because the side of a vehicle offers far less protection than the front or rear.
Jacksonville has specific intersections with persistent red-light running problems. High-volume intersections along Beach Boulevard, Atlantic Boulevard, and University Boulevard see a disproportionate share of these crashes. The city has red-light cameras at some locations, and that footage can be critical evidence when liability is disputed.
Proving red-light running typically involves the camera footage if available, witness accounts, the damage pattern on both vehicles, and physical evidence at the scene. An officer who responded and issued a citation helps. So does a driver who admits in deposition that they didn’t see the light.
Failure to Yield
Failure to yield crashes happen at intersections, merges, and driveways throughout Jacksonville. A driver pulling out of a shopping center on Blanding Boulevard without checking oncoming traffic. A driver merging onto I-95 from an on-ramp without yielding. A left-turn crash at a busy intersection when a driver misjudges the speed of oncoming traffic.
These crashes often involve a clear legal duty that was ignored. Florida traffic law establishes who has the right of way in specific situations. When a driver violates that rule and causes a crash, the liability analysis is relatively straightforward. The fight is usually over injury severity and damages.
Drunk and Impaired Driving
Florida has one of the highest rates of drunk driving fatalities in the country. Jacksonville sees DUI crashes throughout the year, with predictable concentrations around entertainment districts, late-night hours, and holiday periods.
Impaired driving crashes are often the most devastating. Drivers under the influence have slower reaction times, impaired judgment, and sometimes don’t brake at all before impact. The resulting injuries tend to be severe.
When a crash involves a drunk driver, the case often supports punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. Florida allows punitive damages when the defendant’s conduct shows conscious disregard for the safety of others. A driver with a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, who chose to get behind the wheel anyway, typically meets that standard.
Criminal charges against the at-fault driver run parallel to the civil case. A DUI conviction is powerful evidence in the civil claim, though the civil case doesn’t have to wait for the criminal process to conclude.
Aggressive Driving and Road Rage
Jacksonville’s traffic volume and road design create frustration. Aggressive driving, tailgating, unsafe lane changes, and deliberate road rage incidents cause a significant number of crashes.
Aggressive driving cases often have witness accounts, dashcam footage, and a pattern of behavior leading up to the crash that establishes the at-fault driver’s state of mind. That pattern matters in cases where punitive damages are on the table.
Drowsy Driving
Jacksonville sits along I-95, a major long-haul trucking and travel corridor. Fatigued driving among commercial truck drivers is a persistent problem on this stretch, but drowsy driving affects all drivers, particularly on early morning commutes and late-night drives.
Drowsy driving crashes often look similar to impaired driving crashes: drifting out of lanes, failure to brake before impact, crossing centerlines. They’re harder to prove than DUI because there’s no blood test for fatigue. Establishing drowsy driving as a cause typically requires evidence about the driver’s schedule, hours of service records for commercial drivers, and witness accounts of erratic driving before the crash.
Poor Road Conditions
Not every car accident is entirely the other driver’s fault. Road conditions contribute to crashes more often than people realize, and when a road defect causes or contributes to an accident, government entities responsible for road maintenance can be liable.
Jacksonville and the surrounding counties maintain an extensive road network. Poorly maintained pavement, inadequate signage, missing guardrails, faded lane markings, and drainage problems that cause standing water are all conditions we’ve seen contribute to serious crashes.
Claims against government entities in Florida involve specific procedural requirements, including notice provisions with tight deadlines. If road conditions played a role in your accident, that needs to be identified and investigated early. Waiting too long can close off this avenue entirely.
Inexperienced and Teen Drivers
Florida’s population growth means more new drivers on the road, and Jacksonville’s suburban expansion into St. Johns and Clay Counties brings younger driver populations. Teen drivers lack the experience to recognize hazards, manage speed in emergency situations, and make sound split-second decisions.
Crashes involving inexperienced drivers frequently involve excessive speed, failure to maintain lane, and rear-end collisions at intersections. The liability analysis is typically straightforward. The more complex question is often what insurance coverage is available.
Commercial Vehicle and Truck Accidents
Jacksonville’s position as a major logistics hub, with the Port of Jacksonville and significant freight traffic on I-95 and I-10, puts a large number of commercial vehicles on local roads. Truck accidents are among the most serious crashes we handle.
The causes are distinct from passenger vehicle crashes: hours of service violations, inadequate vehicle maintenance, improper loading, driver training failures, and corporate policies that push drivers to meet schedules at the expense of safety. These cases involve multiple potential defendants, from the driver to the trucking company to the vehicle manufacturer, and require investigation that goes well beyond what a standard car accident case demands.
What Cause Means for Your Case
The cause of your accident isn’t just background information. It determines who’s liable, what evidence needs to be preserved, whether additional defendants might be involved, and whether punitive damages are on the table.
Getting that analysis right requires moving quickly. Evidence disappears. Surveillance footage gets overwritten. Vehicles get repaired. Witnesses move on. The earlier an attorney is involved, the better the evidentiary picture that can be built.
Martino & McCabe handles car accident cases caused by all of the factors above throughout Ponte Vedra Beach, Jacksonville, St. Johns County, Duval County, and Clay County. If you’ve been hurt, the cause of your crash is the first question we work to answer.
Call (904) 999-4657 or reach out at consultation@martinomccabe.com for a free consultation.
Michael J. McCabe, is a partner and owner of Martino & McCabe and practices in the areas of personally injury, auto accidents, and premises liability. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Florida State University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2005 while continuing to work as a Professional Engineer.