OCOEE, Fla. – There will be extra officers on the streets of Ocoee to help combat speeding and aggressive driving thanks to a new initiative, the department announced Monday.
With help from a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, the city is starting “Operation Ocoee Safe Streets.”
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The new operation will provide extra enforcement details to help decrease speeding and aggressive driving in “areas of recent crashes, particularly those crashes involving injury or death,” according to a news release.
Police describe aggressive driving as “speeding, following too closely, refusing to yield the right of way, running red lights, weaving in and out of traffic and improper passing, or any combination of (these).”
According to a 2020 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, 11,258 die as a result of speeding. Police added that for ever 10 mph a car drives over 50 mph, the chances of crashing increase by 50%.
The department provided the following tips to help drivers stop these dangerous driving practices.
- Be alert, watch for and obey speed limit signs
- Use extra caution when driving on secondary roads, in school zones and in residential areas
- Do not keep with the flow of traffic if it is above the speed limit
- Be courteous to drivers around you
- Do not cut others off, drive slow in the left lane, tailgate, or make obscene gestures to other drivers
- Do not engage with other aggressive drivers. If you encounter aggressive drivers, steer clear and call the police
- Instead of making good time, make the time good
- Avoid crashes and citations by following the rules
This initiative comes months after a man walking in a residential Ocoee neighborhood was killed in a hit-and-run crash.
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