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Published on Sunday, July 28, 2002
in the Ocala Star Banner
OCALA - Jennifer Succi was driving to a job interview recently when she accidentally rear-ended a car, which then hit another vehicle on State Road 200. For two hours, she waited for a Florida Highway Patrol trooper to respond to the scene.
"It was a long wait," said Succi, noting she never made the job interview.
There were no injuries. And when a trooper finally arrived, he told her he had been responding to other, more serious accidents around the county.
Jennifer Succi's father knows the problem all too well. Capt. Jeff Succi is an FHP district commander for Marion County who can quickly rattle off more stories of stressed troopers and too many accidents. He'll tell you about July 20, for example, when troopers worked more than two dozen crashes - including one accident that injured 11 people in Belleview.
The number of FHP troopers patrolling Marion County has not kept pace with the area's growth, Succi said.
"There's no doubt about it; the county has grown, but the work force has not," said Cpl. Chuck Kline, a 26-year FHP trooper who called the situation a "constant battle."
Kline said when he arrived in Marion County 15 years ago, there were 17 troopers working the roads. While he contends there ought to be at least 40 troopers on the county's roads these days, there are only 15.
"We had 16, but since the war in Afghanistan, we lost one trooper who is in the reserves, and we also have another one in the reserves, so we can loose him at anytime" Jeff Succi said.
The number of accidents has fluctuated over the years, but this year seems poised to overtake last year's total of 2,979. Additionally, the number of serious accidents - which require much more time - could overtake last year's record. There were 94 fatalities in 2001, up from 74 in 1999.
So far this year, there have been 49 deaths on Marion County roads.
In Marion County, each trooper responds to an average of 16 crashes per month, said FHP Chief Ken Howes, who is based in Tallahassee. The state's average is 14. The state uses this average to determine where new troopers are needed the most.
"Osceola is ranked No. 1, with 27 crashes per month per trooper, so they will be the first to get new troopers," Howes said, noting Marion County is No. 12 on the list. "Other counties such as Orange County, Miami-Dade and Broward County are ahead of Marion County."
The shortage of troopers is a statewide problem.
"It's just not enough positions to go around to satisfy everyone," he said.
A MATTER OF TIME
Jeff Succi said an average response time to a traffic crash is 36 minutes in the county.
"That's not an acceptable time to respond to an accident," he said.
For minor accidents, he said, "It will take the trooper about 30 minutes to go the scene, then another 30 minutes to investigate the accident and about another 30 minutes for a wrecker to come to the scene. And that's under an ideal accident."
If victims have to be transported to the hospital, troopers are tied up much longer.
"At that time, you would have to go to the hospital and get the information needed to complete the investigation," he said. "If they have to be airlifted to a hospital out of town, then the time will be longer because we would have to find the next of kin."
With a fatality - which usually requires two troopers - the work could take four or five hours.
"One of the problems we run into is the distance between the different communities," Jeff Succi said. "Then we have some troopers in the reserves. Then we have mandatory training in Jacksonville where troopers have to attend, and we have to allow troopers time to attend court."
Because of the load, each trooper in Marion County earns anywhere from three to four hours of overtime a week, Jeff Succi said.
"The Legislature provides money for programs such as seat belt initiatives, speed enforcement and DUI, but none for overtime," he said.
In some counties, sheriff's deputies respond to traffic accidents. Not in Marion County. FHP troopers are responsible for all county- and state-maintained roads.
WISH LIST
One local state lawmaker said he's willing to help allocate funds for more troopers.
"If we stay on this economic recovery path, this issue can be resolved," said Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala. "It's clear they need more troopers, especially with the amount of roads they have to cover."
In the meantime, FHP officials are awaiting the results of the Northwestern University Traffic Institute model to help prove their case to lawmakers. Now being used in Pasco County, which also faces poor response times, the computer formula uses factors such as county size, population, number of accidents and other data to determine response times and traffic needs.
"If the model is successful, then we can be able to implement it statewide and tell lawmakers why we would need more troopers," Howes said.
As for Marion County, Jeff Succi has a wish list:
"I would love to have eight or nine more personnel to beef up the midnight shift; have more presence on State Road 40; have more troopers in Salt Springs and other rural areas; get at least one trooper to work areas undergoing construction. But, ultimately, you have to work with what you have,"