Move over and drive sober during holidays — or it may cost you
It was an unfortunate morning for some drivers in the express lane of Interstate 595 in Davie on Thursday — both the people who Florida Highway Patrol troopers pulled over for speeding, and the driver in the white Porsche that zipped past the law enforcement vehicles without moving over, a violation of Florida law.
South Florida, be warned: Law enforcement officers are making their presence known on land and sea this holiday season, stepping up efforts to curb DUIs and BUIs, among other traffic violations.
Officers from Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office alerted the public of the perils of driving and boating under the influence at a news conference at their Davie headquarters Thursday morning, then headed onto the highway to pull over speeders and issue tickets.
They had no difficulty finding speeding drivers or those who violated the Move Over law, as car after car sped past without changing lanes.
A citation for violating the law can cost as much as $166. The law mandates that drivers move over a lane when passing a stopped law enforcement or emergency vehicle. Not every state has such a law, meaning drivers arriving from elsewhere this holiday season may not know to follow it.
Tyson Matthews, an officer with the FWC, which has the authority to cite drivers and boaters, said his goal isn’t to pull over every person who may be unaware of the laws, but to keep people safe.
The Porsche was hard to miss, so he pursued it and pulled it over.
Holidays big time for car crashes
If the cost of a ticket isn’t enough of a deterrent for drivers, then the possibility of a fatal accident might be.
December is a busy time in South Florida, as evidenced by the number of crashes. Last year, more crashes occurred in December than any other month in the tri-county area.
Crashes related to impaired driving often rise during the holiday season, and these types of accidents are also often the most fatal. Nationally, about a third of all traffic crash fatalities involve impaired driving, Lt. Indiana Miranda, a spokesperson for Florida Highway Patrol, said at Thursday’s news conference.
“The statistics are horrifying,” she said. “The danger is real.”
So far this year, South Florida has seen over 650 impaired driving crashes, 43 of which ended in fatalities, according to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This is down from last year, which saw over 800 impaired driving crashes and 111 fatalities. But the year isn’t over yet.
Officials urge South Floridians who plan to drink this holiday to assign designated drivers, utilize the state’s “tow to go program,” or pay for ride-share services instead of driving drunk.
“An Uber or Lyft is much cheaper than a DUI arrest,” Miranda said.
Don’t boat under the influence, either
In Florida, boating emergencies increase, rather than decrease, during the winter holidays.
December was one of the biggest months for boating accidents last year, with Florida leading all U.S. states in the number of boating fatalities, according to data from the FWC.
Boaters should follow the same advice as drivers, Matthews warned Thursday. That means don’t drink and boat, either.
Officers will be monitoring busy waterways, particularly the Intracoastal and offshore, this week. The FWC issued over 650 criminal citations last year for operating a vessel under the influence. “If a person is found to be boating under the influence, they will be arrested,” Matthews said at the news conference.
Boaters should also heed the presence of stopped law enforcement or emergency vehicles: As of July, the Move Over law applies to vessels, too. Instead of a “UTC,” or uniform traffic citation, boaters receive a “UBC,” or uniform boating citation, which costs the same as the traffic citation, Matthews said.
The law aims to reduce boating accidents and deaths, which also tend to rise during the holiday season.
The vast majority of fatalities occurred due to someone falling off of a boat. Alcohol and drug use accounted for about a quarter of those fatalities.
Matthews thinks boating under the influence can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence, if not more dangerous, because of the “changing environment” of currents and waves, and the lack of headlights.
“If you add in being intoxicated, it’s not a good recipe,” he said.