Crackdowns

There was an article in yesterday's Palm Beach Post about how our local police and state troopers will heighten their surveilance of I-95 over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. They will be ticketing people for speeding, aggressive driving etc.

Crackdowns are all well and good. But I have a few observations.

1- Why publicize it?
2- Why crackdown only at holiday periods? People speed and drive aggressively on South Florida's main thoroughfare 24/7 365 days a year.
3- How much does this cost in relation to its benefit? Are we paying overtime to do this?
4- They cite the statistics for those who die at this holiday time of the year. Is that really higher than other periods compared after factoring in traffic volume?

I'm not taking a shot at our hardworking law enforcement people but asking questions of their bosses and local politicians. Am I making a point or missing something?

Open Post- Basil's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Bright & Early,

As Santa prepares to take to the skies to bring toys to all good children, police officers are swarming Interstate 95 to nab bad drivers.

The third "Staying Alive on 95" dragnet got under way this morning, with Florida Highway Patrol troopers, county sheriff's deputies and city police targeting aggressive drivers, speeders and drunk drivers on the 380-mile stretch from Miami to Jacksonville.

Locally, about 40 FHP troopers — some in unmarked cars — will be on the highway during the crackdown, which runs through early Saturday, FHP Lt. Tim Frith said.

This is one of the busiest and most deadly times of the year, with thousands of travelers taking to the road for the holidays. Last year, 58 people were killed in crashes over the Christmas and New Year's holidays in Florida.

"The amount of manpower that we'll have out there is obviously an issue," Frith said.

Since state Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, initiated the Staying Alive program last year, police say it seems to be making a difference.

During the first campaign just before Christmas last year, nearly 1,500 citations were handed out for speeding, aggressive driving, following too closely and drunken driving.

The offenders included a motorcyclist clocked by Boca Raton police flying down the interstate at 154 mph.

A follow-up detail in February resulted in 1,029 tickets and two cocaine arrests. The big difference was how fast people were driving when pulled over. Speeders were clocked around 80 mph, instead of 90 to 100 mph during the initial crackdown.

Also, fatalities on I-95 in Palm Beach County are down this year. Twenty-one people have been killed, compared to 30 last year.

Overall, 194 people have died on all roads in the county this year, two short of last year's total.