Florida Highway Patrol said on Friday that stepped up enforcement statewide, over the November 24-28 Thanksgiving holiday period, contributed to the 36 percent reduction in the number of crash-related fatalities, as compared to one year ago. Twenty-three (23) motorists died during the holiday in traffic-related crashes as against 36 deaths in 2009.
“We can attribute part of the significant reduction in fatalities to our efforts to educate the public about Florida traffic laws and to enforce those laws,” said Col. John Czernis, director of the FHP. “The Florida Highway Patrol works hard to ensure residents and visitors make it safely to their destinations. We are very proud of the dedicated service and commitment to highway safety exhibited by our troopers.”
Over the holiday period, FHP issued more than 12,000 traffic citations and assisted nearly 4,000 motorists on Florida’s roadways, statewide. Troopers made 121 arrests for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs and cited nearly 5,000 drivers for speeding and more than 1,400 for failure to buckle up.
Meanwhile, Central Florida did see an increase in the number of traffic related fatalities over the holiday week-end. FHP reported that five (5) persons were killed in Central Florida, more than twice the number of fatal crashes when two (2) persons lost their lives over the Thanksgiving holiday week-end.
FHP said that 1,293 tickets were issued to drivers in Central Florida and of those, 502 were speeding ticket violations. Three hundred and forty-six (346) crashes were investigates, Troopers said.
