High-crash traffic corridors targeted for High Visibility Enforcement

The City of Bradenton is experiencing an alarming increase in the number of traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. From 2020 to 2021, fatalities doubled. Moreover, Manatee County is among the 25 counties in Florida with the highest representation of crashes resulting in pedestrian and bicyclist serious and fatal injuries.

To help reverse this trend, the Bradenton Police Department is participating in the Florida Department of Transportation High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) Program, aimed at educating motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians on Florida’s traffic laws to improve safety.  

Additional officers will patrol specific corridors with a high occurrence of pedestrian- and bicycle-involved crashes. Increased patrols will immediately begin along 8th Ave. W., between 12st St. W. and 14th St. W. Additional locations will be added February 1, 2023: 4th St. W., between 9th Ave. W. and 21st Ave. W.; 1st St., between 9th Ave. W. and the CSX railroad; and Manatee Ave. W. between 35th St. W. and 43rd St. W. Operations will run until May 12, 2023.   

Special attention will be directed towards increasing awareness of the dangerous behaviors that contribute to serious and fatal injuries at these locations. Officers will look for drivers speeding, failing to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, conducting improper turns or signal violations, and using hand-held devices while driving. Officers also will watch for pedestrians who cross the street illegally or fail to yield to motorists who have right-of-way. Bicyclists will be stopped for riding against traffic, riding at night without lights or not abiding by the same laws as motor vehicles. Warnings and citations will be issued only when appropriate.    

Funding for this program is provided through a contract with University of North Florida’s Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM) funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. Bradenton Police Department will receive funds for overtime hours for officers to conduct operations and for special training on Florida’s bicycle and pedestrian laws, procedures and best practices.  

For more information about Bradenton Police Department’s High Visibility Enforcement Program, contact Lieutenant Phillip Waller at 941-932-9300 or phil.waller@bradentonpd.com. 

Media inquiries, contact Meredith Frameli at 941-875-2099 or meredith.frameli@bradentonpd.com.