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Published on Saturday, July 31, 2004
in the Daytona Beach News-Journal
PALM COAST -- Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Patrick Thomason stood on an overpass while his laser chirped and reported the speed of the Interstate 95 traffic passing below.
He was looking for speeders, tailgaters and aggressive drivers. A nest of motorcycle troopers and Flagler County Sheriff's deputies waited for his signal about a quarter of a mile down the highway.
"I got two coming," Thomason radioed. "It's a dark minivan and the white vehicle behind it."
Two motorcycles took off and tracked the cars down. The drivers were issued citations for going 83 mph in the 70-mph zone.
FHP and the Flagler County Sheriff's Office teamed up Wednesday at the Old Kings Road overpass, and anyone driving faster than 80 mph was getting a ticket. They issued 57 tickets for speeding.
It was part of a larger effort to reduce traffic deaths with increased enforcement called "Staying Alive on 95" that FHP is testing in Northeast Florida.
The initiative began two weeks ago after FHP noticed nine people had died in Flagler County near the Palm Coast Parkway exit in 2004, which was more than half of the deaths in FHP's Troop G region on I-95. The region covers more than 100 miles from Georgia to the Volusia County border.
Looking down from the overpass, Thomason could see the problem in Flagler County.
"There's too much traffic, and everybody's going too fast," he said.
Most of the accidents involved motorists losing control in the median and rolling over or striking a car traveling in the opposite direction. The FHP blames driver error, such as speeding, drinking and driving or not paying attention, for most of the crashes.
Sgt. Mike Van Buren with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said the agencies were trying to reduce the number of deaths on the interstate. Three deputies and six troopers participated in the operation.
"With the increased traffic, we've seen an increase in crashes and the fatality rate has really gone through the roof in the last six months," Van Buren said.
The FHP recorded 17 deaths in all of Flagler County in 2003. So far in 2004, the county has had 13 traffic deaths. But no one has died on I-95 in Flagler County since FHP increased its patrols in May. The Sheriff's Office has also had operations earlier this year to enforce speed limits and red light violations.
FHP spokesman Lt. Bill Leeper said the traffic enforcement campaign could serve as a model for the I-95 corridor throughout the state if it's successful. The FHP will continue the initiative through the year to compare the first six months of 2004 with the last, he said.
"Hopefully it will make an impact," Leeper said.