St. Lucie County - Thursday August 11, 2022: The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office has received a grant from the University of North Florida Training and Services Institute to develop and implement a high-visibility traffic education and enforcement campaign called "Operation Look Both Ways."
It's part of a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) initiative to curb the high number of crashes by increasing public awareness of and driver compliance with traffic laws that protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists on Florida roads. The grant award totals $8,317.81, with 0% financed with non-governmental source, under project number 433144-1-8404, contract number G2A92.
The campaign in St. Lucie County will be concentrated in areas known to have high levels of traffic crashes, which have resulted in serious or fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists. It will kick off on Tuesday, August 16th and run through Mat 12 of next year.
“Impaired and distracted drivers traveling at high levels of speed are a major safety concern for pedestrians and bicyclists,” said SLC Sheriff Ken Mascara. “Pedestrians and bicyclists can reduce their risk of being hit by a vehicle by staying alert and following the rules of the road.”
During Operation Look Both Ways, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office deputies will distribute bicycle light kits and educational material at two locations along U.S. Highway 1 in Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie.
Traffic ion 2020 led to 3,332 deaths, according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. More than 21% of those who died on Florida's roads were pedestrians and over 5% were bicyclists.
This enforcement campaign will be supported by FDOT’s Bicycle Pedestrian Focused Initiative.
For more information on Florida’s pedestrian- and bicycle-focused initiative, visit https://alerttodayflorida.com.