Published on Saturday, July 15, 2006
in the Melbourne Florida Today

Speeders to face larger fines in targeted zones

Will fining speeders an extra $50 deter them from breaking the law?

Lawmakers don't know, but for the sake of safety, they will try it out for three years on some hazardous stretches of Brevard, Duval and Palm Beach counties.

Through a state law that went into effect this month, signs announcing the zones are expected to start popping up on roads by the middle of next year. In Brevard, possible locations are crash-prone stretches of Interstate 95, State Road A1A in Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach, and U.S. 1 in Melbourne and Titusville.

There's more to the "enhanced" zones than a fine increase: Normally, police can only issue a warning to those speeding by 5 mph or less. The law eliminates that leniency and lets them be fined, too.

"Troopers are going to be cracking down, and there's going to be a zero tolerance. We support any initiative that's geared toward saving lives," said Ernesto Duarte, spokesman for Florida Highway Patrol.

Because severe crash victims need sophisticated medical treatment, money from the extra $50 fines will be split. Half will go to trauma centers, including Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. The other half will help spinal cord and brain injury victims at nursing homes statewide.

Lawmakers don't know exactly where the "enhanced penalty zones" will be, nor how much money the pilot program will raise. By July of next year, a state Department of Transportation study is going to identify state road sites where high-speed crashes occur often and ticketing stops can be done safely.

"We're going to have to get cracking to do something," said Marianne Trussell, the state Department of Transportation's chief safety officer.

Trussell said stage engineers determining zones will consider construction, nearby exit ramps, the length of the zones and where signs indicating the zones will go.

Rep. Thad Altman, R-Viera, filed the bill for the project with Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, as a co-sponsor.

That they live in Brevard and Duval counties, respectively, played a key role in the counties' participation in the program. Brevard has recorded a speeding-related crash rate that is double the state average in rural interstate areas.

Palm Beach County was chosen to represent another part of the state.

Altman and others foresee critics calling the project a money-raising venture, but they insist it's to promote safety and save lives. It comes at a time when trauma centers, which handle serious automobile accidents, are at a funding deficit.

"The trauma centers are facing a funding crisis," said Amy Maguire, director of the Florida Trauma Alliance, a membership comprised of all of Florida's 21 trauma centers.

Maguire said in a 2004 study, the centers lost nearly $100 million that year, because they must be ready with specialists and operating rooms round-the-clock.

Last year, the Legislature passed other laws benefiting trauma centers. The fine for red-light runners doubled from $60 to $125, sending extra money to trauma centers. Maguire said the trauma centers expect $6 million from that law's first year.

Also, penalties increased for motorists causing serious injuries or fatalities in crashes. The increase was $500 for serious injuries and $1,000 for each death. Maguire didn't know how much trauma centers expected from that change.

"This is a dedication to Florida having a strong trauma system. You want the right care when you're involved in a traffic accident," Maguire said.

The Florida Highway Patrol probably will be the primary enforcers.

They fines will be an extra tool for people such as FHP Lt. Pat O'Neill, who estimates about a third of the 82 deaths since Jan. 1, 2003, on the Brevard stretch of I-95 were because of speeding.

"Our traffic fines are getting higher by the day," he said.

O'Neill recalled fining a speeder $311.50 who reached 100 mph on U.S. 1 last weekend and the motorist said he was late for a hockey game.

"He earned that one. Had he crashed, people would have died," O'Neill said.