On average, three people are struck by vehicles per week in Central Florida.
It’s a grim statistic that doesn’t sit well with the Kissimmee Police Department.
So, on Monday, the agency kicked off a six-month High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) detail to help better protect pedestrians and bicyclists in the area.
“Osceola County ranked in the top 20 counties in the state for traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists,” said Sgt. Stacey Legel in KPD’s traffic enforcement unit. “Besides that, Central Florida in general has been named one of the most dangerous regions in the nation.”
In 2017, 3,135 people were killed in traffic crashes on Florida’s roadways. More than 22 percent of them were pedestrians (720) and more than 5 percent were bicyclists (160), according to the Kissimmee Police Department.
The agency will conduct the detail in five different areas. They are:
• On Orange Blossom Trail, from West Vine Street to West Donegan Avenue.
• On West Vine Street, from Old Vineland Road to North Hoagland Boulevard.
• On Vine Street, from John Young Parkway to Ingram Street.
• On John Young Parkway, from West Vine Street to Clay Street.
• On Clay Street, from South Hoagland Boulevard to South Thacker Avenue.
Those areas were targeted because they have the highest number of crash-related incidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists, Legel said. They are also high-traffic areas with a large amount of foot traffic, and people using bikes to get to work or school.
“On average, three people are struck a day in Central Florida,” Legel added. “On average one person is killed each week crossing the street here in Central Florida.”
The Kissimmee Police Department’s main goal with the enforcement is to educate pedestrians and bicyclists to avoid them becoming a statistic. Officers will be handing out educational fliers and quick reference guides to people
“Pedestrian and bicycle safety is the most important thing we are concentrating on to make sure they’re focused on what they are doing on the roadways,” Legel said.
Officers will touch on avoiding distractions such as texting or talking on the cell phone.
In addition, they also will stress wearing bright reflective clothing so drivers can see them.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our pedestrians and bicyclists that did succumb to traffic incidents are wearing dark clothing, so we want to make sure they are a lot more visible out there,” Legel said.
They also will be equipping bicyclists with lights on their bikes to ensure they are being used.
After the six-month detail is completed, Kissimmee police will compare the data with past years to see if special attention is still needed in the targeted areas. If the incident numbers drop significantly, police could move to other areas in the city.
The detail is being funded through a contract wit the University of North Florida in partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.
While the goal of the detail is to educate, citations are not out of the question.
“If we don’t think education will correct that behavior, then there will be citations or warnings given, but again the main goal is the education,” Legel said.
