Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said Friday there have been 320 fatalities of pedestrians or bike riders hit by cars in the last three years.
There’s no better time to try to cut into that number than during the upcoming holidays, when children will be out of school and out and about for two weeks.
Lopez debuted his “Slow Down/Despacito” campaign Friday, asking drivers to go common sense things to prevent traffic fatalities with children and other pedestrians — slow down, focus on the road and not text and drive.
“The stats show, driving the speed limit and being aware of your surroundings saves lives,” he said. “Slow down, and don’t text and drive, no message needs an immediate response, and if you have to, park somewhere safe.”
The Sheriff’s Office has made signs to drive home the program, and Lopez offered those signs free to anyone who lives or works in a place were speeding is a problem; call or go to the Sheriff’s Office to get signs for free that can be put in a yard or along a street in order to signal drivers to slow down.
Lopez said many of the pedestrian fatalities are in the western tourist areas where visitors aren’t aware of surroundings, but others have occurred in Poinciana and Buenaventura Lakes involving bicyclists and drivers not paying attention to their surroundings.
