|
Home Search |
Published on Monday, May 10, 2004
in the Miami Herald
Following a spate of highway injuries and deaths, the Florida Highway Patrol is cracking down on aggressive truck drivers and debris flying off trucks in the second phase of Operation Safe Ride.
''We are pulling everyone from desk duty, public affairs, training and recruitment and putting them in uniform on the roads'' Thursday and Friday, said Lt. Pat Santangelo, an FHP spokesman.
Operation Safe Ride, a statewide campaign, will concentrate all of the FHP's resources for a 48-hour period on targeting aggressive commercial drivers, using radar and similar devices, video camaras and even planes to spot offenders. They'll also be looking for cargo that is not well secured or covered.
While state records reflect that road debris caused less than 1 percent of all highway injuries in 2002, the consequences can range from chipped paint to death.
Claudia Avila of Pompano Beach died in March from skull injuries caused by a 34-pound piece of metal that plunged through her windshield on I-95 in Delray Beach and sent her into a prolonged coma. Investigators could not determine whether the metal fell off a truck or got onto the road some other way.
Stephanie Murray was 13 in 1998 when a metal rod broke the window of the car she was riding in on Interstate 95 in Broward County and impaled her to the seat. She arrived at the hospital with a metal rod sticking out of her chest, but survived.
''It took a year to get back into the swing of things,'' Stephanie said in a phone interview. ``We weren't able to press charges because there was nobody to press charges against. The rod was kicked up off the road.''
The incident led to the formation of the group ROADS, Removal Of All Debris Safely, which lobbies for stricter fines and more officers to enforce penalties.
Right now [having a poorly secured load] is just an infraction, but it should be a gross violation, said Stephanie's father, Jim Murray. ``To this day, I have people daily tell me that whenever they see a loaded truck, they move to the other lane in fear, and in memory, of what happened to Stephanie.''
State Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, sponsored legislation in the just-ended session that would have raised fines and increased the severity of the infraction from a non-moving violation to a moving violation. But he withdrew the amendment when Senate members couldn't agree on its language.
''For me personally, and for all South Floridians, traffic congestion and traffic problems are a lead cause of frustration, and road debris has become a particularly dangerous element on the highways,'' Hasner said.
Hasner and State Rep. Irving L. Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, Vice Chair on the Subcommittee of Highway Safety, said they plan to sponsor similar legislation next year.
The problem, Slosberg said, is that the FHP lacks the resources to properly enforce existing laws. 'Anyone who drives on I-95 can see who the unsafe drivers are, but the question is, `Who is watching them?' There aren't enough law enforcement because the money is not there.''
The fine for improperly secured cargo is $47. The infraction is a non-moving violation, which means that it has no impact on the driver's record.
Chuck Malkus, a ROADS community volunteer, called the fine ``barely a slap on the wrist, which is the root of the problem. If there is no strong penalty, no one will pay attention. And it isn't a moving violation, so they don't have to worry about the points on their driver's licenses.''
Even a driver who has received numerous tickets for badly secured cargo, which may have led to objects as large as mattresses and refrigerators falling off the truck and onto the highway, is in no danger of losing his/her driver's license.