Volusia County, FL - The Volusia County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) announced Monday that it is beginning a series of traffic enforcement campaigns aimed at reducing excessive speed and aggressive driving after receiving a $50,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
According to VCSO, the County ranks sixth in the state out of Florida counties with a population of 200,000 or more for crashes involving speed or aggressive driving. VCSO recently received the grant aimed at reducing crashes and says that it will begin enacting the grant's projects effective immediately. The project grant's funding lasts through September of 2018.
"Through that grant funding, we'll be able to pay for special traffic enforcement operations throughout the end of this year and into next year," says Andrew Gant, spokesperson for VCSO.
The project will involve marked and unmarked Sheriff's Office units, as well as the VCSO's Air One helicopter. Deputies will be out in the community working high-visibility, zero-tolerance enforcement operations at locations throughout Volusia County, particularly in areas with a high frequency of traffic crashes, fatalities, and aggressive driving complaints. The specific times and locations of these efforts will be varied and will not be announced in advance.
Volusia County has more than 415,000 licensed drivers, according to VCSO, and the County has seen an increase in traffic violations and traffic crashes over the past several years. The number of drivers spikes significantly during major events at Daytona International Speedway, Bike Week, Biketoberfest, and other special events. The seven major arteries that direct tens of thousands of visitors to Volusia beaches also become heavily traveled during holiday weekends and throughout the summer months.
The goal of the new VCSO campaign is to reduce the number crashes and increase visibility and awareness of traffic enforcement in Volusia County. "The whole point of this is to keep people safe and save lives," says Gant. "I would just ask people to, regardless of whether there are blue and red lights behind you, to drive safely and carefully with courtesy and safety in mind."
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