By Sheriff Carmine Marceno
As your Sheriff, I am always concerned about your safety and well-being when driving on Lee County roads. The dangers of driving while distracted or speeding, not only endanger the life of the speeder but other drivers on the roadway as well, including our law enforcement officers. We all need to do our part to slow down, put the phone down, pay attention and follow the laws and rules of the road.
While driving in your communities or coming and going from Lehigh to other parts of the county, you can be sure that members of our Traffic Unit are proactively patrolling looking for aggressive and speeding drivers. These two driving behaviors are a primary reason we see many motor vehicle accidents resulting in death that quite simply, didn’t have to happen.
Though all of our deputies are responsible for enforcing traffic laws, the Traffic Unit is dedicated to promoting and improving traffic safety through education, analysis, and enforcement. Members are provided extensive training that must be continued on a regular basis to maintain their skills and keep abreast of ever-changing traffic laws. Within this specialized component, you will find a Motorcycle Unit, DUI Enforcement Unit and a Traffic Homicide Investigative Unit. Their primary function is to investigate crashes, conduct traffic enforcement as needed based on statistical data, and respond to traffic problems or concerns reported by community members.
Have you ever wondered how the Traffic Unit picks the locations they patrol? It’s called crash data. This data helps deputies identify unsafe roadways through reports that include information such as the number and type of crashes involving vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, severity of injuries or death, information about the drivers involved, and more.
How often does the Traffic Unit patrol Lehigh? Well, we aren’t going to give-away our days and locations, but you can be certain we are there several times a week. A very recent Saturday, six-hour operation on State Road 82 resulted in 83 tickets being handed out to drivers. With hundreds of miles of roadway to patrol in unincorporated Lee County, our deputies have a lot of ground to cover.
What is the focus of the Traffic Unit? When conducting traffic “ops”, deputies will concentrate on red light runners and speeders. The consequences of breaking these two laws are far ranging, resulting in the loss of your vehicle, severe bodily injury to you or others, and even more devastating, the loss of life.
If you are concerned about traffic problems in your neighborhood, I encourage you to visit our website at www.sheriffleefl.org , click on Bureaus & Programs, then Traffic Unit, and Request Traffic Enforcement. You can also find information on our site about how to self-report a traffic crash online, register for towing permits and citation information.
Please drive safely!
