DeLand, FL - The home of Bike Week and Biketoberfest sees over 200 drivers pulled over in a four-month period during a safety initiative started by the Sheriff's Office.
Back in October of 2018, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office received a $30,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation to follow through with a yearlong motorcycle safety initiative.
Four months later, VCSO reports over 200 motorcycle rides have been pulled over so far in the name of biker safety.
"And that's the goal of the grant, motorcycle safety," says Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood to WNDB.
Sheriff Chitwood said that $30,000 grant is allocated between the overtime of 32 deputies who were part of 13 different operations throughout Volusia County, all in a different focus area with the mission to monitor bike traffic.
"You don't want to go somewhere where there's really no motorcycles operating," said Sheriff Chitwood. "You want to go somewhere where there's a problem or an issue, that's what we based the traffic safety grant on."
Deputies in these operations were told to focus specifically on careless driving, speeding and red light violations.
A total of 239 stops were made between October 1st of 2018 and February 1st of 2019, where deputies found:
"You're doing the big picture traffic operation, but you're looking for these violations or educational opportunities in motorcycle safety," said Sheriff Chitwood.
The FDOT grant lasts until the end of September, this year. And while the grant ends in September, VCSO says the safety effort will continue year-round with a minimum of 70 operations planned.
Volusia County was the main focus for this grant as it's the home to major events including Biketoberfest and Bike Week.
Volusia also has over 63,000 documented drivers with motorcycle endorsements, one of the highest numbers in the state according to a 2017 report from Florida Highway Safety And Motor Vehicles.
