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Published on Tuesday, August 3, 2004
in the Winter Haven News Chief

Officers needed for roads

Friday’s first crackdown on speeding and other reckless driving on Interstate 75 through Lee County shows what tough law enforcement can accomplish.

It also shows that the local Florida Highway Patrol troop is understaffed for the kind of action that will make a difference.

It took virtually the entire county trooper corps, plus reinforcements from Collier County, to pull this off; that kind of effort can’t be sustained. Yet precisely this intense law enforcement presence is needed on a regular basis to change behavior on the interstate and elsewhere.

Lee County will get three new FHP troopers Aug. 13, and Collier County will get two. That’s a third of the 15 new patrol officers authorized for the 10 counties in the Troop F region. It helps, but it’s not enough to mount serious crackdowns often.

Anyone who travels the interstate knows that speeding, tailgating and dangerous lane-changing are rampant. But tougher law enforcement is needed on other roads and highways as well. Only eight of last year’s record 121 traffic fatalities in Lee County were on I-75.

As of the end of July, 49 people had died in traffic mishaps, including six on I-75, promising a considerable improvement over last year.

But the overall trend in deaths in a growing area is up.

That’s all the more reason to urge state and local officials to beef up road patrols. The returns in the form of lives saved will be well worth it.

Tickets issued Friday during “Operation Sunrise to Sunset:”
• Speeding tickets — 323
• Move Over Law violations — 33
• Aggressive driving — 22
• Restraint citations — 5
• Insurance violations — 8
• Following too close —2
• Others — 119

WHAT SPEEDING COSTS YOU
• Exceeding the speed limit by:
6-9 mph — $78.50
10-14 mph — $153.50
15-19 mph — $178.50
20-29 mph — $203.50
30 or more mph — $303.50
• Note: Must be be paid within 30 days

Source: Florida Highway Patrol

LEE TRAFFIC FATALITIES
• Year / Deaths
1998 — 77
1999 — 100
2000 — 116
2001 — 118
2002 — 76
2003 — 121