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Fewer Tickets And More Crashes On Florida's Roads

Joe Cavaretta
/
Sun Sentinel
Fort Lauderdale Police Officers run a speed enforcement stop, Thursday, July 26, 2018, on Andrews Avenue. The number of traffic tickets issued in Florida has been dropping since 2012, while accidents have been on the rise.

South Florida’s roads have gotten more dangerous, yet fewer drivers are getting tickets.

State records show 33,821 more crashes in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties in 2017 than in 2012. At the same time, cops in the three counties issued a half-million fewer tickets for speeding and other non-criminal moving violations.

Some law officers say traffic citations have taken a back seat to other priorities because of staffing shortages. They say they’re also relying more on educational efforts and on verbal or written warnings to curb bad road behavior.

Other reasons: Fewer red-light camera tickets were issued, and the state Legislature outlawed police agencies from having traffic ticket quotas.

Read more at theSun Sentinel

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