PALM BAY POLICE UPDATE: High Visibility Enforcement Details to Improve Pedestrian, Bicycle Safety
By Lt. Lancaster, Palm Bay Police Department // April 2, 2019
goal of this enforcement effort is to increase awareness and compliance with traffic laws
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Brevard County ranks in the top 25 counties in the state for traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.
In an effort to protect the safety of these most vulnerable road users, the Palm Bay Police has conducted High Visibility Enforcement Details (HVE) during the period of October 1, 2018, to May 31, 2018.
Targeted locations identified through historical data. This area is over-represented in traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.
HVE details are funded through a contract with the University of North Florida in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation’s focused initiative to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.
The goal of this enforcement effort is to increase awareness of and compliance with traffic laws that protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.
Enforcement efforts focused primarily on education to drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. However, violations may result in warnings or citations depending on the circumstances.
During the five months, the grant has been in place, the Palm Bay Officers have achieved the following results:
- We have trained over 20 officers on ped/bike laws to assist the public in safely operating on our roadways
- We have conducted over 25 special details to educate the ped/bike/drivers on our roads
- We have conducted over 500 traffic stops during these details, that have presented opportunities to educate on how to drive safely on roadways
- We have written a limited number of traffic citations during this detail, but we are focusing our efforts on education
- We have made 3 non-traffic related arrests during the details
The PBPD recognizes the value of this grant and plans on re-applying in the future.
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