The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office applied for and has received a traffic grant through the Florida Department of Transportation to enhance patrols focusing on speeders and aggressive drivers.
Since 2016, Okaloosa County has had nearly 25,000 traffic crashes with 113 fatalities and 5,871 injuries.
According to the FDOT’s “Highway Safety Matrix”, which ranks counties and cities based on total serious injuries and fatalities, Okaloosa ranks in the top 25% (for similar sized counties) in five out of nine dangerous categories, to include being ranked in the top three for speeding and/or aggressive driving related crashes.
In 2016, Okaloosa County had 5,623 traffic crashes. The number in 2017 rose to 6,053. It climbed to 6,287 in 2018 and to date is close to 500, a roughly nine percent increase over the same time period last year.
The OCSO is conducting high visibility patrols and traffic enforcement in various hot spots around the county in an effort to boost traffic safety and also educate the public.
The campaign runs March 9th through September 30th.
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