Cracking Down On Speeders On U.S. Highway 19

Watch your speed, speeders on U.S. Highway 19. It’s a dangerous highway, one of the most dangerous highways in the state. That should be reason enough to slow down.

And to make sure you are doing just that, Florida Highway Patrol was teamed up with other law enforcement agencies and were out and about patrolling U.S. Highway 19 to crack down on dangerous driving across four counties. They put together a big team to take care of business and go after reckless drivers and speeders. They planned for eleven different agencies to track speeds and be on the lookout. Certain areas of U.S. Highway 19 seem to be more dangerous than others. The proof is in the number of fatalities. In 2020 there were 94 deaths because of crashes on U.S. Highway 19. This crackdown took place along U.S. Highway 19 from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge all the way to Levy County.

This was a big endeavor with the eleven different law enforcement agencies involved. They referred to the project by the FHP as "Multi-Agency Speed Enforcement Detail." Ultimately, this project is about keeping people safe and building awareness by educating the public, especially when they get pulled over. These agencies were out in droves enforcing Florida traffic laws.

St. Petersburg Police Lieutenant Jason Levy spoke at a press conference on Wednesday with the Florida Highway Patrol. He explained that his agency focused on the stretch of U.S. Highway 19 around 34^th Street. There have been incidences of crashes here and also at 38^th Avenue North, 22^nd Avenue North, 5^th Avenue North, and 22^nd Avenue South.

The operation took place between 10 A.M. and 6 P.M.

A woman named Stacey Wolfenden told ABC Action News that she drives up and down U.S. 19 every day and saw lots of patrol cars. She said, “There was at least three within three miles just sitting there on the road, and then you go up, and there's two more sitting there.”

Let’s stay safe on U.S. 19 and all highways and roads around our Tampa Bay area.