VCSO Targeting Speed, Aggressive Driving In 2017-18

Date Added: December 04, 2017 2:37 pm

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

***JAN 9, 2018: An update on this continuing effort to curb speed and aggressive driving in Volusia County:

From the start of this operation through the end of 2017, deputies working under this FDOT grant made 140 stops resulting in 88 moving violations and 14 non-moving violations. There were 71 speeding violations. The grant funding continues through September 2018.

VCSO TARGETING SPEED, AGGRESSIVE DRIVING IN 2017-18

Starting today, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is launching a series of traffic enforcement campaigns targeting excessive speed and aggressive driving in Volusia County – part of a $50,000 state grant aimed at significantly reducing crashes and fatalities.

Deputies will be out 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 vary and will not be announced in advance.

The project, funded by a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, lasts through Sept. 30, 2018, and will involve marked and unmarked Sheriff’s Office units as well as the VCSO’s Air One helicopter as available.

Volusia County has seen an increase in traffic violations and traffic crashes over the past several years. While 2016 figures show Volusia County is home to more than 415,000 licensed drivers, the number of drivers on the county’s roads 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.

Among 25 Florida counties with a population of 200,000 or above, Volusia County ranks sixth in crashes involving speed or aggressive driving. The goal of this campaign is to reduce the number of those crashes and increase visibility and awareness of traffic enforcement in our county.