Troopers: We'll Be Watching

Just one day after the latest wrong-way driving arrest in the Tampa Bay area, the Florida Highway Patrol has announced the dates for its third enhanced enforcement effort to curb the dangerous driving trend.

An additional 15 troopers from around the state will join those already assigned to the Tampa Bay area for the effort that kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday.

Troopers have announced they will focus their efforts on Interstates 75, 275 and 4. Patrols will also be conducted along the Veterans Expressway “to provide protection to area motorists from wrong-way drivers,” an email from FHP stated.

Wrong-way driving incidents have claimed nearly a dozen lives so far this year. A number of arrests have also made headlines. Most recently, a wrong-way driver was charged with DUI after he passed a trooper on Interstate 275.

FHP has conducted two similar enforcement efforts in recent weeks. Last weekend’s saturation patrol netted 108 speeding tickets, nine DUI arrests and a host of other arrests and citations.

Motorists who encounter wrong-way or impaired drivers are urged to contact FHP via their cellphones at *FHP or *347.

See Also:

• Wrong-Way Driver Passes Trooper on I-275
• 108 Speeding Tickets, 9 DUIs, 124 Warnings: Wrong-Way Enforcement Results
• FHP Plans Show of Force Through the Weekend
• Wrong-Way Driving Crackdown Results Released
• Troopers Launch ‘Intensive Patrols’ to Stop Wrong-Way Drivers
• Update: Tampa Police Officer Struck by Wrong-Way Driver
• Wrong-Way Driver on Veterans Thought She Was on I-75, Troopers Say
• Wrong-Way Driver Arrested on Veterans Expressway
• Wrong-Way Crashes: How Would You Prevent Them?
• 3 Dead in I-275 Wrong-Way Crash
• Wrong-Way Driver Collides with Ambulance in Fatal Crash
• Wrong-Way Driver Arrested in Clearwater
• Wrong-Way Driver Causes Fatal U.S. 301 Crash