By BRIAN HAAS
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Thursday, October 01, 2009
PALM
BEACH COUNTY — Attorney Doug Leifert's traffic-law office has seen
booming business over the last few years, but none was bigger than 2008.
"My office is busier and busier every year," said
Leifert, whose practice is in Delray Beach. "Without even looking at
the stats, I can tell you the increased enforcement is obvious."
Those statistics back him up. Palm Beach County drivers got more traffic tickets in 2008 than in 2007.
Every category of traffic citation was up in 2008, with the biggest
surge in the most serious cases, after a five-year trend of general
increases, according to newly released statistics by the Florida
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Citations deemed
"criminal" - DUI, fleeing police, reckless driving jumped by nearly 18
percent.
The county may have seen up to an 85 percent increase in DUI
convictions in 2008, though part of the increase could have been
because of prior statistical reporting problems.
That is at odds with numbers statewide and from Broward County, which both saw overall drops in traffic citations.
The increase in Palm Beach County tickets has been attributed to more specialized patrols and operations.
Lt. Tim Frith, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol's Palm Beach
County district, said a jump in DUI accidents last year prompted Troop
Commander Luis Ramil to create a DUI squad. The half-dozen troopers in
the squad participate in roving patrols and checkpoints.
"Since they have been out in force, we have had significantly more DUI arrests," Frith said.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office also more than doubled its
DUI unit to 10 people, said the unit's supervisor, Sgt. William Gray.
The agency did several new specialized operations focusing on speeding,
DUIs, the state's move-over law and new seat belt regulations, he said.
Leifert said the increased enforcement is noticeable. He said some
municipalities use enforcement to generate revenue without increasing
taxes. The Florida Legislature on Feb. 1 increased all traffic fines as
a way to generate revenue for the state, but municipalities generally
get a small portion of that revenue. Palm Beach County cities, for
example, get about 13 percent of the revenue from a typical traffic
ticket. In 2008, the county's cities divided a little more than $3
million ticket revenue, according to the Clerk of the Court.
Iris Siple, a Pembroke Pines city commissioner, said the notion of cities raising significant revenue through tickets is a myth.
"It's not realistic to use that to make up a budget gap," she said.
"The percentage you get out of it is not going to make you wealthy."
Despite his criticism, Leifert said the enforcement is good.
"I don't mind seeing increased traffic enforcement," he said. "The ultimate goal is that we'll all be safer."
The jump in Palm Beach County's DUI convictions is a little harder
to explain, said Chief Assistant State Attorney Elizabeth Parker.
She said that the Clerk of the Court's reporting system recently has
been re-evaluated to provide the state with more accurate numbers. She
expects last year's convictions and arrests still actually were higher,
based on extensive training officers did throughout the year.
"The focused enforcement is definitely forcing an increase in numbers," she said.
Zack Quigley, 17, of Boca Raton, was happy to hear of the increase.
He said he's never gotten a ticket before, but sees too may drivers who
deserve them.
"People don't respect the traffic signs," he said. "The tickets will
help a lot because they keep the traffic better. It helps keep order."
Broward County, on the other hand, continued a general five year
decline in traffic citations with 2008 being the lowest. The biggest
drop came in the category of "non-criminal moving" violations, which
include speeding, careless driving and red-light running. Broward's DUI
convictions remained flat.
Sgt. Mark Wysocky, spokesman for Broward's Florida Highway Patrol
troop, said fewer drivers on the road led to fewer deaths, crashes and,
most likely, fewer tickets.
"It may have something to do with the economy," Wysocky said. "There's just not as many people driving."
Statewide, there was an overall 1 percent drop in the number of
tickets issued. Nearly every category of traffic violation either was
down or flat. Notable exceptions include proof of insurance, expired or
lack of a vehicle tag and motorcycle helmet violations.
Miami-Dade County saw a 24 percent increase in traffic citations and a 20 percent increase in DUI convictions.