JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
Less cars means more danger on the road.
“I almost got ran off the road yesterday,” says driver Tereca Halsey.
Esther Huebner had her own experience with a dangerous driver. “He had a couple of inches and pulled in front of people. He didn’t care.”
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, the fatality rate for drivers spiked 30% to its highest level in 15 years during the coronavirus lockdown.
“The roads were kind of wide open,” says Sgt. Dylan Bryan with the Florida Highway Patrol.
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FHP tells Ben Becker there’s been a 54% increase in statewide speeding tickets for drivers clocked going over 100 miles per hour.
Becker emailed FHP to find out hot zones for speeding during the lockdown in Northeast Florida.
In Duval County, 75 drivers have been slapped with tickets compared to 61 last year.
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One person was clocked going 136 miles per hour.
The Florida Department of Transportation tells Becker the three busiest roads in our area are the following:
- I-95 at the Fuller Warren Bridge
- I-95 North of I-295 on the Southside
- The Buckman Bridge
All averaged 163,000 to 170,000 vehicles per day in 2019.
FDOT does not have the 2020 numbers at this time, but according to transportation data firm Inrix, the number of cars on Florida roads dropped by more than 50% during the lockdown.
Cox Media Group
