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Published on Saturday, January 1, 2005
in the Naples Daily News
A more aggressive approach to traffic enforcement in Collier County has added up to a 20-death drop in the number of deaths on the road in 2004.
There were 58 deaths in Collier County in 2004 and 78 logged in 2003, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office.
"We want people to believe that there might be a deputy right around the corner or down the road," said sheriff's Sgt. Chris Gonzalez, one of the members of the 27-deputy strong traffic unit.
Analysis of intersections that had traffic crashes ¯ not the most traffic fatalities ¯ helped deputies direct their enforcement efforts.
Deputies would hit an intersection, such as Airport-Pulling and Pine Ridge roads, and tailor their traffic operations to that area. Three times a day for two or three hours each day, they'd be seen there.
Many wrecks were probably stopped by red light operations or speed operations meant to make drivers think about being safe, Gonzalez said.
"You can't imagine how happy we are," he said.
The causes of the 58 fatal crashes range from running a red light to speeding, but Gonzalez said he wasn't aware of any trends.
"I can only attribute the decrease into the way we do traffic enforcement," he said.
Reducing the deaths by 20 people in a growing county such as Collier is a major accomplishment.
He said the sheriff's goal isn't to write tickets. The goal is to keep the roads safer.
"There are 20 people, 20 families that we don't have to notify of a traffic death," he said.
State troopers can't always explain why some years are deadlier than others on Florida's roads.
Some things are just left up to chance and driver error.
But Lt. Douglas Dodson said at least one thing is clear: drunken driving and seatbelt use remain one of the biggest factors in whether a traffic accident means a few scrapes and bruises or death.
"If seatbelt use is up, fatalities are low," he said. "A lot of people survive horrific crashes because they wear their seatbelt."
Lee County traffic fatalities reflect that trend.
Fatal accidents in Lee County fell from last year's record high of 123 last year to 114 as of Friday, according to Florida Highway Patrol statistics. About 75 percent of the victims weren't wearing their seatbelts in the Lee accidents, according to the statistics. In several other wrecks, it could not be determined if a seatbelt had been worn. Drinking played a smaller role in the deaths, coming into account in fewer than a third of the accidents.
Careless driving and traffic violations were the most common cause listed for the accidents by the FHP.
The oldest victim was 94; the youngest had not yet been born.
Two of the accidents happened on the first of the year. According to the FHP statistics, alcohol was involved in both.
The most recent fatal accident occurred Thursday in Fort Myers, claiming the life of a 23-year-old woman who died after being struck by an oncoming car while trying to turn at an intersection.
Even in the worst wreck, a seatbelt can make a difference, Dodson said. A sport utility vehicle that overturns on the highway can contain four family members who walk away from the accident because they were properly restrained, he said.
Lt. Linda King from the Lee County Sheriff's Office's traffic unit agreed.
"Basically if we could just have people put on their seatbelts," the roads would be safer, she said.
Many local fatalities involve accidents with unrestrained drivers or passengers, she said.
Neither she nor Dodson could say whether this year's small dip in traffic fatalities can be attributed to more sober and careful drivers.
It is almost impossible to explain why traffic deaths vacillate over the years, Dodson said.
Lee County saw a dramatic drop in accident fatalities in 2002, when 71 people died on area roads, only to see it soar to the all-time high of 123 in 2003, according to FHP statistics. There were a total of 5,963 traffic wrecks in Lee County that year, according to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which each August releases a detailed accounting of accidents statewide from the previous year.
According to its most recent statistics, accidents in the state overall were up slightly in 2003, as well. Florida showed a 1.1. percent increase in wreaks with 243,294 crashes on the state's roadways, an average of 667 crashes a day. Only a fraction of them, 2,880, were fatal.