According to a Jan 22nd 2024 Hillsborough County press release, DUI enforcement will not be letting up anytime soon in 2024. After locking in additional FDOT funding for increased patrols through Sept 2024, we expect the Tampa area to continue to be the Florida’s DUI hotspot.
Read the HSCO’s release below:
“The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was awarded a traffic safety subgrant in the amount of $360,000.00 by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for impaired driving education and enforcement.
The purpose of this program is to educate the community about dangers associated with impaired driving and conduct high visibility operations in an effort to decrease impaired driving-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities in Hillsborough County. This grant will reimburse HCSO for overtime for deputies, as well as equipment with the following breakdown:
- $350,000.00 for overtime salary and benefits for law enforcement officers, benefits to include FICA (Social Security and Medicare), Retirement, and Workers Compensation
- $8,000.00 for the purchase of 15 preliminary breath tests and peripherals for program implementation
- $2,000.00 for the purchase of 1 pedal cart for program implementation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2020 Traffic Safety Facts Alcohol-Impaired Driving reported that Florida had a total of 3,331 traffic fatalities in 2020, the third highest of all states. Of these fatalities, 871 (approximately 26%) were alcohol-impaired driving in Florida. This represents approximately 8.6% of all traffic fatalities in the United States in 2020.
The contract was executed on November 21, 2023 and the program will run through September 30, 2024.”
