Published on Friday, March 24, 2006
in the Lake City Reporter

Traffic: Enhanced Enforcement Detail

The Florida Highway Patrol's Lake City District conducted a five-day enhanced enforcement detail last week in Columbia County that resulted in more than 600 issued citations.

The five-day operation, which took place March 13-17, resulted in 652 traffic citations, 176 written warnings, 128 faulty equipment violations and 23 seat belt violations

In addition, four people were arrested for DUI and four citations were issued for .02% Blood Alcohol Violations to motorists under the age of 21.

“The .02 law has been in effect for probably four to five years, but really hasn't been enforced because there have been so many other violations that we have had to attempt to detour,” said Lt. Mike Burroughs, public information officer for Troop B of the Florida Highway Patrol. “As recent studies are showing that underage drinking among teenagers is increasing, we felt it was time to utilize this tool to reduce both underage drinking and the number of fatalities we're seeing on our roadways statewide.

“The Lake City District of the FHP has renewed its commitment to detect and cite violations of underage drinking and the .02 law is a perfect tool for us to use it that fight,” Burroughs said.

Operation Selective Traffic Enforcement Patrol, or Operation STEP, is an FHP operation aimed at reducing serious injury or fatal crashes in Columbia County.

Columbia County qualified as a candidate for the operation due to an increased number of serious injury or fatality crashes, citizen complaints and a large number of traffic violations. Troopers from the nine-county Troop B area offer assistance during Operation STEP.

During the operation, troopers used driver's licenses and faulty equipment checkpoints, stationary laser radar, unmarked patrol vehicles and FHP aircraft speed enforcement details, according to reports.

“We are experiencing phenomenal growth, subsequently resulting in more congested roadways,” said Capt. Tim Culhane, Lake City District Commander.

“The need to adhere to speed limits and other traffic laws has never been greater. I hope that Operation STEP serves as a reminder that we each need to do our part to make Columbia County's roadways safe.”