Published on Sunday, September 3, 2006
in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Dangerous drivers beware as police agencies increase patrols for holiday

On a grassy median beneath the Florida's Turnpike overpass on Interstate 595, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky sat in his tan and black cruiser and waited for a radio call from his colleague half a mile up the road.

Six FHP troopers were out for two hours Saturday morning looking for dangerous drivers along this speed-friendly stretch of highway.

Several agencies, including the FHP, have extra police, speed patrols and DUI checkpoints on the roads this weekend to crack down on risky drivers during the Labor Day weekend.

Within minutes, Trooper Tommie Robinson's voice interrupted the rush of cars buzzing by.

"Number two lane. It's a blue vehicle. Going to be behind a red vehicle. Going 84 [mph] at 8:35 a.m.," said Robinson, who used his radar to spot the westbound early morning speeders.

Down the road, Wysocky flipped on the cruiser's sirens and quickly pulled over the driver, Frank Medal, of Pompano Beach, who was on his way to work in Plantation.

Medal was shocked but kept his calm.

"If I was speeding, so was everyone else because I was just following the traffic," Medal said. "I'm a little surprised he picked me out."

The cost for Medal: $182.50 for driving 19 mph over the speed limit.

The FHP will conduct similar speed enforcement efforts on I-595 this morning and Monday morning, according to Wysocky.

"It definitely helps," Wysocky said. "People know we are out here."

Troopers usually issue between 40 and 50 citations during each two-hour enforcement period, Wysocky said. The FHP is also participating in the National "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" crackdown, which ends at midnight Monday.

Last year, 44 people died in traffic accidents in Florida during the Labor Day weekend, and 23 of those deaths were alcohol-related, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Wysocky said people should call the FHP's hotline -- *FHP, or *347 -- if they see dangerous drivers on the roads.