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Published on Saturday, December 25, 2004
in the Tampa Tribune
WINTER GARDEN - Kelli Brassard was eager to reach her family's Fort Lauderdale home for Christmas - so she hit the gas pedal, switched into the right lane and began passing cars along Florida's Turnpike.
She didn't notice the unmarked squad car sitting in the median.
Trooper Dane Hilston made a U-turn, switched on the car's flashing blue lights and siren, and pulled her over for driving 87 mph, 17 mph over the legal limit.
``I knew what I was doing wrong,'' said Brassard, 32, a waitress from Atlanta. ``I sped up to get around the traffic because all the slow people were driving in the fast lane.''
Hundreds of Florida Highway Patrol troopers patrolled Florida's roadways Friday, enforcing speed limits and looking for aggressive driving on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Ordinarily, about 300 troopers work statewide at any given time; about 600 were out Friday as supervisors, investigators and recruiters who work at desks got into squad cars. Ten planes also were used.
``All hands are on deck,'' said Lt. Pat Santangelo, a highway patrol spokesman in West Palm Beach.
Most Plan To Drive
AAA Auto Club South predicted more than 3 million people would hit Florida roadways during the Christmas- New Year's holiday season, while almost 574,000 Floridians planned to fly and another 115,000 planned to travel by bus or train.
By comparison, AAA Auto Club South estimated that more than 2 million people drove during Thanksgiving, another 295,000 flew, and 115,000 took buses and trains.
Airports across the state had a much easier day on Christmas Eve than on Thursday, when airports were plagued by scores of delays and cancellations because of foul weather up north. On Friday, most airports reported, at worst, minor travel delays.
Crackdown
Last year, 18 people died in car crashes in Florida on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a slightly higher rate than the regular daily average of about eight fatalities.
Because Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Saturdays this season, federal transportation officials believe a record number of travelers will drive - increasing the possibility of deadly crashes.
``You hate to write folks tickets on the holiday, but you hate worse for them to be killed,'' Hilston said.
In South Florida, troopers working with local law enforcement organized one of the largest aggressive driving crackdowns in the area's history. They issued 1,499 citations Monday and Tuesday - a period when there were no fatalities or serious injuries along Interstate 95 from Miami to St. Lucie County, about 100 miles north.
Hilston, in the holiday spirit, gave Brassard a break by issuing a $115.50 citation instead of the usual $180.50 fine. He also gave her a warning for improper seat-belt usage.
``In holiday traffic, they're not thinking,'' Hilston said. ``I try to get them to think.''