Published on Wednesday, March 15, 2006
in the Palatka Daily News

Teens, Take Care: Law enforcement, school officials want students to be safe, have fun

PALATKA -- Spring Break will officially start on Monday, but some high schoolers in the area take at 2:15 p.m. Friday as their official start, said Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Detectives Maj. Keith Riddick.

“We know the schools let out Friday about 2 p.m. and half of the kids will be heading out not too soon afterward,” said Riddick. “The goal of the sheriff’s office is to make the Spring Break week a safe one for our kids.”

Putnam County School Superintendent David Buckles said each year he hopes that drivers are aware that Spring Break lasts from the first week of March into April.

“I’ve been to enough teenager funerals that everytime the schools let out, I get sick to my stomach,” said Buckles. “I would warn motorists to please be mindful that they are out there.”

Statewide, the Florida Highway Patrol will be enforcing speeding, seat belts and drunk driving laws as part of Operation Spring Break.

“We have a couple of destination cities — Panama City, Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale — that are primarily where the spring break kids go,” said Capt. Brent Coates of FHP’s Palatka District. “In the Putnam County area, we have had one fatality, two years ago, of a Palatka High School female on the first day of spring break. I hate to say it, but kids are kids and the rules of driving sometimes get forgotten when spring break shows up. We will be looking though.”

Coates said the cost of a occupant restraint ticket is $71.50 and recent changes in the law make it legal for troopers to stop a vehicle just for a seat belt violation.

“If there is an occupant or even a driver believed to be under 21 years of age, we don’t need to have the usual probable cause to stop the vehicle for a seat belt violation,” said Coates. “Surprisingly, most drivers don’t realize that not only the passenger, but the rear seat occupants must have restraints.”

Coates reminded Spring Break drivers that there is a new law designed to deter under age drinking and driving.

“That O2 statute says that anyone under age 21 with a .02-.079 blood alcohol level, which is below the state’s normal standard of .08, can be given an administrative suspension of their license until the violator reaches 18 years of age or one year,” said Coates. “It tries to discourage the underage drinking.”

Riddick said the sheriff’s office is using deputies not only in Putnam County to monitor illegal drinking as well as illegal alcohol purchases, but that many are being transferred to St. Johns County.

“We have an arrangement with them because most of our kids head that way for the break,” said Riddick. “Crescent Beach and Vilano Beach are two popular spots for Putnam’s kids as well as Daytona Beach. Our school resource officers will be assisting the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office during the break again to keep our kids safe.”

With the proximity of the east coast beaches to Putnam County — St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia and Duval — the sharing of manpower bolsters the eyes and ears for local beachgoers.

“It is a multi-faceted approach that will begin Friday,” said Riddick. “We will be looking for under-aged parties in the Putnam area as well with our normal patrols.”

Statistics from the Department of Highway Safety Motor Vehicle bolster Riddick’s point that the age group that partakes in Spring Break is susceptible to traffic accidents.

A 2004 survey done by the HSMV showed that the trend for crash numbers to increase is highest for two parts of the year — March and April, typically Spring Break, and Christmas. The numbers for fatalities in crashes for the year also show an increase for the same two time periods.

“Everyone knows that the kids will be driving back and forth to the beach and then back home,” said Riddick. “We don’t go out there to harass them, but try to let them know that it is a dangerous couple of weeks, especially with drinking involved. A lot of them will have partied all day, then try to drive home from Daytona Beach or St. Augustine. We just want them to be careful.”