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Published on Wednesday, March 12, 2003
in the Pensacola News Journal
Law agencies jointly enforce traffic violations
The Pensacola Bay Area is not known for its flesh-baring, beer- swilling spring breaks, but local law enforcement officials plan to make sure even the relatively calm crowds mind their driving manners.
Strike Force 98, an assortment of law enforcement agencies from Pensacola to Apalachicola organized to reduce traffic-related injuries and deaths on U.S. 98, has scheduled three more major enforcement efforts. The next one begins Friday.
"Spring break is a time when, unfortunately, alcohol and inexperienced drivers do tangle," said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tommy Moore. "Hopefully, we get the message out and everybody has a good time and nobody gets hurt."
Pensacola Beach tourism officials say the hotels already are full of spring break vacationers.
Moore said the enforcement efforts, also planned for March 28 and April 11, will extend beyond U.S. 98, which has been the focus of five efforts since the Strike Force formed in August. Intensified patrols - called "wolf packs" - will cover all major roads leading to the beach, such as Scenic Highway, Interstates 10 and 110, Avalon Boulevard and U.S. 29.
Apart from the three scheduled operations, the Northwest Florida DUI Task Force has planned a series of checkpoints, and troopers are stepping up overtime patrols targeting the seasonal crowds, he said.
Concerns over drunken driving and spring break are not as pronounced in Pensacola as in other parts of the Panhandle. In Panama City, known for its rowdier crowds, the Highway Patrol sends a special detail of 14 troopers to back up the local agencies, Moore said.
"We get the kids who just want to be laid-back, relaxed, sit in the sun, get a tan and ride the scooters and the Jet Skis," said Sandy Johnston, executive director of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce. "We get the ones who want to escape the craziness, and that's just how we like it."