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Published on Friday, December 3, 2004
in the Stuart News
It's a "madhouse" out there on Interstate 95 — and people are dying.
And it usually gets worse during the holidays.
Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies say speeding and aggressive driving are eclipsing drinking as the biggest danger on the road, and a new campaign starts now to slow lead foots down.
At the same time, the Florida Highway Patrol vowed an unprecedented enforcement wave at the end of the month with the same objective — preventing deaths.
"We're somewhere in the neighborhood of 47 fatalities this year," said Sgt. Shane King, who heads the Martin County sheriff's traffic unit. "That's the first time in probably 15 years that I know of that we've been in the mid 40s as far as fatalities.
"Approximately 20 of those are just on I-95, and 80 to 90 percent of those 20 are due to high speed," he said.
"It is no secret that in the Treasure Coast the fatality rate is up," said FHP Lt. Tim Frith. "I would attribute that to the growth in that area."
So on Dec. 20 and 21, in an operation called "Staying Alive on 95," the FHP along with agencies across South Florida are planning their biggest two-day enforcement wave on the interstate.
"We're going to use every instrument possible to stop aggressive driving, unlawful speeders, following too close," Frith said. "We want to make a mark on these two days . . . we want you to see law enforcement like you've never seen before."
Drivers can expect to see far more sheriff's deputies in marked and unmarked cars patrolling the East Coast artery the whole month of December in Martin County. There will be no warnings, officials said.
The peak hours of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., plus holidays and weekends, will have the most deputies on the road.
Authorities in St. Lucie County are also planning their usual holiday enforcement waves.
Though planned months ago, the efforts come on the heals of eight people killed in three separate crashes in one day in Indian River and Martin counties during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
But it's not just the deaths.
"People are talking about how this driver cut me off, that driver was lane surfing at 90-miles an hour," King said. "It's a mad house out there."
He had one car recently clocked at more than 130 mph.
"What I'm doing now is trying to slow people down before we get to the holidays," King said. "Once they get into Martin County, it's going to be too late (to slow down). They're no longer free to roam at 90, 100 miles-an hour."