A safety enforcement initiative launched Tuesday in seven counties, designed to raise awareness about Florida’s driver yield laws and curb pedestrian injuries and deaths.
Operation Best Foot Forward’s quarterly pedestrian safety program runs through Feb. 25 at designated crosswalks across Central Florida, most locations within a mile of a school zone.
During the enforcement initiative, officers in plain clothes will cross streets at marked sidewalks. If a driver fails to yield to pedestrians, as required by Florida law, they will face a minimum fine of $164 and a three-point violation on their driver’s license.
Data collected in last year’s enforcement found that Central Florida drivers yield to pedestrians at school-zone crosswalks only 45% of the time. The state of Florida is ranked third in the country for child pedestrian deaths, according to the campaign’s news release.
Child pedestrian mortality rates have also increased by 11% since 2013, according to a 2023 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
However, Operation Best Food Forward’s 2024 enforcement resulted in an 11% increase in driver compliance at 23 crosswalks. It additionally led to an 18% increase in drivers yield rate at 11 crosswalks, due to engineering improvements and further enforcement efforts.
Program manager of the nonprofit organization Best Food Forward for Pedestrian Safety Vince Dyer said the most important aspect of enforcement initiative is spreading awareness, specifically about the Florida yield laws and the presence of crosswalks.
“It's really about the education,” Dyer said. “[It’s] about bringing visibility to the crosswalks themselves and getting drivers to think and remember when they come back through the area.”
The program takes place in Brevard, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Flagler and Volusia counties. For more information about the enforcement initiative or to view the schedule and the involved crosswalks, visit IYield4Peds.org.
