CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — With less than a week left until Christmas, law enforcement agencies across the Tampa Bay area spent Wednesday cracking down on aggressive drivers.
“I want people to be home safe as the holiday season family comes first the key thing is pay attention to what you’re doing on the roadway,” said Sgt. Daniel Negersmith with the Clearwater Police Department. “This is not the time to be rushing around stop for the red lights, and start to slow down at the yellows.”
The operation included the Clearwater Police Department, Tampa Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol and deputies from both the Pinellas and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Offices.
Authorities issued dozens of citations during the crackdown, which focused on the Courtney Campbell Causeway and other parts of State Road 60. It began around 10 a.m. and ended around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
8 On Your Side got to ride along with Sgt. Negersmith along the Courtney Campbell.
“Hey guys, you got a two door BMW coming eastbound it went by me at 63 in a 45, it’s moving pretty good,” he said over the radio as he patrolled the area.
Sgt. Negersmith said he’s been seeing a lot of drivers who are on their cell phones or not paying attention, causing crashes.
After he pulled a driver over he would ask them, “do you know why you’re being stopped?” and they would say “no.”
Although some of these drivers were speeding, many were actually pulled over for breaking Florida’s “Move Over” law.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, state law requires drivers to “Move Over” a lane — when you can safely do so — for stopped law emergency vehicles. However, if you can’t move over, you must slow down to a speed that’s 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.
If you break the law, it will result in a fine, fees, and points on your driving record.
Within 5 hours of the operation, Clearwater police said there were 399 total traffic stops from all involving agencies.
There were seven criminal charges, including: One felony traffic arrest, one misdemeanor traffic arrest, one warrants, 2 DWLSR Arrest, and 2 DUI arrests.
212 warnings were issued.
187 citations were issued, including: eight DWLSR, 90 speeding tickets, 32 non-moving violations, 49 moving violations, and eight criminal citations.
Cars were zooming by so fast, you could feel the vibration inside Sgt. Negersmith’s patrol car.
“We’re seeing an increase in people just not paying attention when you stop someone and they say they’re not paying attention that’s a problem because you should be paying attention especially when you’re traveling at a speed of 70 or 80 miles an hour,” he said.
