Published on Tuesday, December 19, 2006
in the Lake City Reporter

Officials predict heavy holiday travel

More than 3 million Americans are predicted to travel along Florida's roadways during the Christmas and New Year's holidays and local law enforcement are stepping up patrols to help reduce the number of crashes. According to AAA, more than 3.3 million motorists are projected to travel along Florida's highways and more than 64.9 million Americans are predicted to travel during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, a 2.2 percent increase from last year.

Last year, Florida saw 25 motorists killed in crashes along the busy roadways during the holiday season. One person died in a Columbia County wreck. The Christmas driving period begins Saturday, Dec. 23 and ends at midnight on Dec. 25. The New Year's driving period begins Saturday, Dec. 30 and ends at midnight on Jan. 1. Because of the increased traffic, law enforcement will have an increased presence on our roadways, not just for motorists traveling through, but for local residents who may be attending parties.

“For Christmas and New Years, we add what we call DUI saturation patrols,” said Lt. Mike Burroughs, public information officer for Troop B of the Florida Highway Patrol. “We basically double the amount of overtime hours that troopers are allowed and we hold several patrols.”

Burroughs said statistics continually show that alcohol plays a major factor in crashes during this time of year. “One of the things we would like to remind every motorist of is that the festive and office parties they may attend, if they consume any alcohol at all, don't drive,” he said. “We see a lot of novice drinkers that have no intentions of drinking at a party and end up with DUI charges at this time of year.”

Burroughs said this is called “buzz driving.” “This is where people feel a small sense of impairment but they don't feel drunk,” he said. “Buzz driving is actually more dangerous because you still think you can drive.”

Burroughs said the FHP is promoting a program from AAA called Tow-To-Go, where if someone is drunk, they can call a tow truck to come pick them up and take them home, along with their vehicle. “This is not linked to law enforcement at all, and if you call that number, they will come pick you up and take you home,” he said. The number for the Tow-To-Go program is 1-800-AAA-HELP.