Most Recent Blog Entries

Sarasota Reckless Driver Ends Up Dead Following High-Speed Chase

Ronald Daly was stopped in Sarasota on Beneva Road after police received a report of a reckless driver. The 50-year-old may have been issued a traffic ticket but he sped away before Sarasota County Sheriff’s could write him a citation. That led to a high-speed chase and ultimately to Daly’s death.

According to a story in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Daly was stopped at 11:30 p.m. but he sped away. During the high speed chase Daly lost control of his 2010 Chevy and crashed into a tree. He was reportedly not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene. There have been no details as to why police believe Daly fled the scene. He was driving erratically but there has been no mention of a drunk driving charge or an outstanding arrest warrant that may have caused him to flee.

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Tampa Traffic Tickets For Tailgating Will Increase As The Technology Does

For a long time Tampa police have issued traffic tickets for speeding thanks to laser technology. Now that same technology is being used to issue traffic citations in Tampa for tailgaters. Police in Tampa are using the lasers to determine how far one car is behind another and then issuing traffic tickets in the amount of $151 to Tampa motorists who are traveling less than 1 second behind another vehicle.

The laser technology Tampa police are using is called light detection and ranging. They also use a software program to measure the time between the two cars to determine whether or not a traffic citation will be issued. The lasers were recently purchased with grant money and so far 16 officers are trained to use them.…

Carless Driver Ticketed In New Smyrna Beach For Running Over A Sunbather

Udi Melamed has been issued a Florida traffic ticket citing him with careless driving
for an incident in New Smyrna Beach. Melamed ran over a sunbather while
trying to pull into a vacant parking spot. Well at least he thought it
was vacant.

According to an Associated Press story, Melamed was pulling into a
spot but his view was blocked by a truck. The obstruction barred him
from seeing a woman who was lying in the sand next to the pick-up. The
woman was not seriously injured by Melamed.…

St Pete Red Light Runners Get Ready For Cameras At Your Intersections

Red light runners in St Pete better get used to fines and not being able to fight those red light tickets as the city council has voted 7-1 to install red light cameras in St Petersburg.
City Council members cited the same reason as cash-strapped cities and
counties have used all over the state of Florida, that it is a safety
issue.

Council members cited unnamed studies to back-up their vote to
install the revenue-raising cameras even though the council member who
introduced the bill admitted he’d never seen the research that backs up
the facts he was using to support his position. One study that TampaBay.com did mention was conducted by USF and it showed that red light cameras significantly increase car accidents and that cities who use these cameras aren’t serious about reducing car crashes.
Red light cameras can now be found in Tampa Bay cities like Oldsmar,
Temple Terrace, Port Richey, South Pasadena, Kenneth City and Tampa.…

Speeder Rams Truck Into Sarasota House

The driver of a truck suspected of speeding in Sarasota may have lost control of the pick-up before crashing into a Sarasota house. No charges have been filed in the car crash as of yet and the man driving the pick-up suffered serious injuries in the wreck Sunday night.

Paramedics and firefighters had to work to remove the driver from the wreckage. A witness told the Sarasota Herald Tribune that he heard the truck speeding through the neighborhood but never heard anyone hit the breaks before the loud crash. There is no mention if anyone inside the house was injured.…

Tampa Red Light Runners Get To Face Off Against The Cameras That Ticketed Them

Tampa driver’s who were ticketed for running a red light got their chance to face off against the red light cameras on Monday but as in almost every other Florida county the drivers did not fare very well. Of the 12 people who showed up to challenge their fines for running a red light, only two had their tickets dismissed.

TampaBay.com sent reporter Jessica Vander Velde to the County Center to watch as Hillsborough County citizens tried to persuade a special magistrate that their red light tickets were unjustified. Almost all of them failed. The cameras are already used by Hillsborough County, Kenneth City, Port Richey, Temple Terrace and Brooksville. They are close to being installed in St. Pete and the
city of Tampa is looking into the red light cameras as well.…

Lakeland Driver Hit By Train Lucky All He Got Was A Traffic Ticket

Christopher Zazarine was hit by an Amtrak train after trying to race across the tracks and in this case he is lucky all he has to show for it is a Florida traffic ticket. According to TBO.com the Lakeland man survived his collision with a passenger train with a few aches and pains and a traffic citation or two for failure to obey a railroad signal and failure to obey a traffic control device.

According to the story Zararine was driving a Dodge Charger on Combee Road on U.S. 92 when he came to a railroad crossing. Instead of waiting for the train to pass, he raced around the line of cars, avoided the railroad crossing arm and then was hit by the train. The Amtrak train was traveling just 30 M.P.H. due to the fact it was passing a construction zone, a fact that may have saved the man’s life.…

Tampa And Sarasota Traffic Ticket Numbers Are In From Click It Or Ticket Campaign

The Florida Highway Patrol released their numbers when it came to Florida traffic tickets following their two-week Click It or Ticket campaign. While there were a staggering 36,858 traffic citations issued statewide we reported yesterday that only about 18% were for seat belt violations. Now Tampa and Sarasota have weighed in with their ticket numbers.

The Sheriff’s Office issued 494 traffic tickets in Sarasota for seat belt violations during the campaign. Nearly 10% of those who received seat belt violation citations in Florida were from the Tampa Bay area. According to the St Pete Times 633 seat belt violation tickets were issued in Tampa Bay alone. That number is almost triple the amount of seat belt tickets that were issued last year during the same period when Tampa Bay law enforcement issued 230 traffic citations for not wearing a seat belt.…

Tampa Red Light Runners Featured On You Tube Courtesy Of The Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office

If you live in Tampa and have received a recent citation for running a red light you may be on your way to You Tube stardom. The
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office has put together a 2:08 video montage of Tampa’s worst red light runners. They have also put it on You Tube for the whole world to check out.

The red light cameras that issue the fines are the same ones that supplied the video for You Tube. The cameras are stationed all around Hillsborough County in an effort to s top Tampa red light running. The cameras are at popular intersections on Dale Mabry, Bruce B. Downs, Fletcher Avenue and Waters Avenue.…

Florida Traffic Ticket Total Nears 37,000 For Statewide Click It or Ticket Campaign

The Florida Highway Patrol released their final number of Florida traffic tickets written during their two-week Click It or Ticket campaign. A staggering 36,858 traffic citations were issued yet only 6,550 of those were for seat belt violations, which was the focus of the campaign. The percentage of tickets issued for seat belt violations during this seat belt enforcement campaign was just over 17%.

The FHP also reported 311 arrests for DUI and driving under the influence of drugs resulting from the stops. According to the FHP’s own release there were more than 10,000 Florida speeding tickets issued and an equal number of motorists assisted.…