Wednesday night we showed you where almost half of the accidents on our interstate are happening. We also showed you that this area is where the Florida Highway Patrol seldom works. Tonight we are going further, showing you where in that crash corridor (from Naples to North Fort Myers) you are most likely to crash. It's information that could save your life. It's information the Florida Highway patrol is taking a closer look at and making changes.
The changes troopers are making are temporary... but it is my hope that down the road they will make them more permanent.
When we asked Major David McCarter why they are not working the 50 miles between Naples and Fort Myers aggressively he said "because that area is congested", and that "they are busy answering calls." His office did provide documentation that shows troopers are busy. I don't argue that troopers are not doing their job. My personal opinion is they do an excellent job.
However, they are the ones tasked with enforcement on the interstate... so they can't give an excuse for ignoring a 50 mile stretch of interstate. Simply put, if they are not there... who is? I have spoken with numorous people who have said they rarely, if ever, see a trooper between Fort Myers and Naples. The drivers have taken notice... and are driving accordingly.
Some could argue there are so many cars on the interstate that enforcement would be ineffective.
But this operation done on the interstate proves otherwise. In a single day troopers saturated the entire interstate. Calls to FHP for aggressive/reckless drivers dropped 66%. Doesn't that sound nice?
It's clear FHP needs more troopers/money to adequetely cover Southwest Florida, especially the interstate. As it stands right now... they have become more of a reactive agency then a proactive one. If you need a reason for that to change... watch tonight at six.
2 comments:
I certainly appreciate the statistical analysis in the news report, but I frankly suspect that what you are considering to be a "cause-effect" (we have more accidents on the corridor because fewer tickets are written) is actually two effects from a single cause, (we have more accidents due to congestion, and that same congestion forces drivers to slow down).
I would suspect that even if patrols were increased on the corridor there would still be less tickets written proportionate to less crowded areas due to the congestion. The reason most accidents happen around the interchanges is that the crowded conditions make merging into traffic much more difficult.
So I question whether increasing patrols would significantly decrease accidents in the area.
I moved down here from NY City traffic 2 years ago. So i'm accustomed to the volume. The problem lies simply in driving habits. If the guy who is pushing my car out of the way as I travel about 70-80 miles per hour would just calm down (we all get there at the same time BUDDY), then somebody would not accidentally make a rash move to get out of his way, and cause an accident. Plus, those people who move from the left lane to the exit ramp in one move!!! Come on, you had almost 3 minutes to place yourself in the right lane for exit. Finally, the person who rushes onto the entrance lane, and nobody considers giving way, until the last second when he/she pulls in front of you - in the LEFT lane; That's what slows the entire highway down and makes everyone mad at each other. So in conclusion, if everyone just stopped being a annoying person on the road, we can all get where we are going with less stress.
The tickets definately help curb the insane-iacs who need to crash thier car into a tree so we don't have to deal with them any more. I have seen the INCREASE in patrol and pullover since the NBC-2 story and it has curbed some wacko driving in those zones at the time. More patrols, take my tax dollars please! I want to live longer and not have a heart attack on I-75 thinking about how insane everyone is around me.
PS: I have never in my 40 years seen so many rollover accidents in my entire life, until i came down here, what gives.
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