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Published on Sunday, May 9, 2004
in the Ocala Star-Banner
Some records aren't made to be broken, like last year's 119 road deaths in Marion County. But that is exactly what could happen if local drivers don't start slowing down, obeying traffic signals, buckling their seat belts and quit drinking and driving.
In response to 2003's deadly statistics, area law enforcement agencies - the Florida Highway Patrol, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon police departments - joined forces to crack down on traffic scofflaws. The result was S.T.E.E.R., an acronym for Safety Through Education, Enforcement and Responsibility.
The results of S.T.E.E.R. are noteworthy in terms of increased enforcement. During the first three months of 2004, the number of traffic tickets written in Marion County was up 36 percent from the same period a year earlier, from 9,512 in '03 to 13,014 in '04. Arrests for driving under the influence, at the same time, increased 16 percent. Along the way, the S.T.E.E.R. agencies have continued conducting monthly traffic crackdowns along some of Marion County's most heavily traveled byways.
But it hasn't been enough. So what's missing in the S.T.E.E.R. equation? Let's see, law enforcement is stressing safety. There has been no lack of public awareness about the issue and the causes, so education is clearly being carried out. More people are receiving traffic tickets, so enforcement is up.
That leaves responsibility. And that appears to be the biggest problem. Too many people speed. Too many people run red lights. Too many people fail to yield. And an alarming number of people simply refuse to wear their seat belt.
Here's a breakdown of the leading causes of the record death toll on our roads last year: careless driving, 42 percent; failure to yield, 22 percent; and DUI/drugs, 18 percent. Maybe most indicative of the lack of responsibility too many drivers show is that a whopping 43 percent of those killed on our roadways last year weren't wearing seat belts.
What's disturbing, though, is so far this year, despite S.T.E.E.R.'s efforts, Marion County is on pace to match its record highway death toll again. And, so far, of the 37 fatalities recorded in 2004, an unbelievable 62 percent of those who have died have not been buckled up. What gives?!
Again, the problem is individual Responsibility. We asked S.T.E.E.R. officials if the increase in traffic death couldn't simply be another symptom of growth. FHP Capt. Jeff Succi, however, produced statistics that show that population isn't the root cause.
He showed us statisitics from similarly sized Florida counties to see how our 37 deaths so far this year compared. It was anything but encouraging. So far this year, for example, Alachua County has had 14 fatalities. Manatee County (Bradenton), which has almost identical demographics to Marion County, has had 17 road deaths. Lee County (Fort Myers), 26 deaths. Leon County (Tallahassee) five deaths. Heck, populous Pinellas County (St. Pete/Clearwater), with nearly four times the number of people, has the same number of road fatalities as Marion County so far this year.
Succi and other S.T.E.E.R. members say a big part of Marion County's road safety problem is its geographic size and its wide open stretches of roads. Because people travel farther and, often, through, sparsely populated areas, they speed. And, Succi points out, speed is the No. 1 contributor to accidents and, in turn, deaths on our roads.
The S.T.E.E.R. agencies plan to step up their enforcement efforts even more, so beware. They also are spearheading an effort to bring more driver education to our youngest drivers through a national program called Road Smart. And even the city of Ocala and Marion County governments are do their part by assessing their roads to determine if any engineering issues are posing unusual safety hazards.
But in the end, it is the individual driver who has most control over safety on our roads. And with 62 percent of those dying on our roads not even taking the split second required to buckle a seat belt, it's obvious the "R" in S.T.E.E.R. is the biggest challenge facing our community in its efforts to reduce death and mayhem on our roads.