Speeding Drivers Take Advantage Of Florida's Empty Roadways

TAMPA, FL — It was just after midnight and Dale Mabry Highway was deserted. It must have resembled the straightaway at the Daytona International Speedway.

It proved too tempting for three young Tampa residents. On Wednesday, Tampa Police caught them drag racing at speeds of 85 to 75 mph in a 45 mph zone. Police pulled the cars over near Spruce street.

Christopher Angel Crawford, 19, Danyelle Marie Merrill, 21, and Miriam Melissa Perez, 24 were arrested and charged with unlawful racing on a highway. Their cars — a Nissan Maxima, Pontiac G6 and Toyota Corolla — were impounded.

Law enforcement agencies throughout Florida say speeding has become commonplace on the nearly deserted highways and secondary roads as more people stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Too often, the consequences are deadly.

Around 11 a.m. Saturday, April 4, 50-year-old Hal Holmes Flowers, a Tampa attorney and father of four, was crossing Bayshore Boulevard in the South Rome Avenue crosswalk when three motorcyclists came speeding toward him.

A motorcycle ridden by Justin Glenn Winterhalter, 31, a Tampa engineer, struck Flowers. Winterhalter died at the scene. Flowers was transported to Tampa General Hospital where he later died.

Witnesses told police the motorcycles were going at least 80 mph in the 35 mph speed zone when the accident occurred.

Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Gaskins said speeding has become a dangerous trend on Florida roads during the stay-at-home orders.

Gaskins' district covers Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sumter Counties.

In January, the highway patrol tickets 144 drivers for going more than 30 mph over the speed limit. In April, that number rose to 313.

Just 58 drivers received citations from the FHP for driving at speeds of more than 100 mph in January. In April, 168 drivers were ticketed.

While travel is expected to be lighter than in previous years this Memorial Day weekend, the highway patrol anticipated more people on the road then in previous weeks. This could have fatal consequences if drivers continue their current speeding habits, Gaskins said.

He said the Florida Highway Patrol will be out in full force this weekend with speed guns at the ready.

Verra Mobility of Mesa, Arizona, is a national safe transportation mobility provider that has provided most of Florida's red-light cameras and highway speed monitors.

The company did an analysis and found, despite fewer vehicles on the roads, the average speed and number of citations for speeding and red-light running increased during the shelter-in-place policies enacted in many cities and states nationwide.

"These dangerous behaviors are creating havoc on roadways in many U.S. cities, said Verra Mobility Executive Vice President Garrett Miller in a news release. "As the nation prepares for Memorial Day weekend—historically, one of the biggest travel weekends of the year—Verra Mobility wants to remind drivers to travel safely."

Despite a 45 percent decrease in traffic volume at more than 4,000 monitored red-light and speed locations, Verra Mobility recorded a 16 percent increase in violation speeds. Likewise, the number of speed citations issued since the pandemic started also increased by more than 10 percent.

"With fewer vehicles on the road, drivers are driving more recklessly with sometimes deadly consequences," said Miller.

Verra Mobility said the most dangerous situations often arise from vehicles traveling in excess of 20 mph over the posted speed limit. The number of violations for this category increased by nearly 40 percent in April when compared to April 2019.

During that same time period, the number of drivers cited for traveling more than 20 mph over the posted speed limit increased by nearly 240 percent — from 4,000 to 16,000.

Miller said this trend not only poses a risk to drivers; it puts law enforcement officers and health care workers in jeopardy by putting them into contact with more people, increasing their changes of contracting the coronavirus.

"During the current crisis, reducing preventable serious medical injuries resulting from car accidents is critical to lessening the burden on emergency department personnel in hospitals and medical centers," Miller said. “The public should be alarmed by the significant increases in dangerous driving behaviors we’ve seen in cities across the United States," he continued. "Our hope is that by raising awareness, we can help prevent future driving related crashes, injuries and fatalities during an already deeply challenging time for all of us, including our police and first responders."

Miller echoed Gaskins' warning to drivers to be especially conscious of their speedometers during Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer.

"With Memorial Day approaching, it’s critical that all of us make smart choices on the road, especially now," he said. "We’ve grown used to open roads and there may be more traffic than we’ve been accustomed to in the past eight weeks. We encourage everyone to drive safely."