Temple Terrace Roadside Safety Initiative Transitions To Citations

From FDOT: In November, the Temple Terrace Police Department was awarded a $4,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to conduct high-visibility enforcement and education as part of Florida’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Focused Initiative.

The enforcement effort was aimed at promoting traffic safety while reducing bicycle and pedestrian related crashes, according to Capt. Mike Pridemore of the Temple Terrace Police Department. During the first 30 days of this project, police officers were issuing warnings to violators as part of an educational initiative to improve road safety. Officers now will be issuing citations to violators, while continuing to provide educational materials and safety recommendations, Pridemore said.

Florida’s statistics are alarming, he said. Traffic crashes in Florida in 2014 resulted in 498 pedestrian fatalities, 7,467 pedestrian injuries, 135 bicyclist fatalities and 6,520 bicyclist injuries, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. These rates are nearly double the national average for pedestrians and nearly triple the national average for bicyclists, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The enhanced enforcement effort is scheduled to run through May, 2017.