VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — For the first time in years, the Volusia County Council has taken action on beach driving. Thursday, the county ordered a study about how it could change driving on the beach after a 4-year-old boy was struck and killed by a truck on New Smyrna Beach last weekend.
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It was the second fatal crash on the beach this year; another 4-year-old was killed in March.
The unique situation at the beach is what is essentially a playground that merges with a two-lane highway for 17 miles. It has been that way ever since there were cars to drive, but the county council now believes that needs to change.
The money brought in by beach driving and the access it provides people to the beach took a backseat to safety for the first time Thursday, because of the death of a 4-year-old boy.
"I paid. And I'm one of the individuals that paid to get on your beach, and I paid $5 to watch the worst thing in my life," said Jason Patrick, the victim's father (watch interview).
The parents of Aidan Patrick pleaded for a change to beach driving and the county council listened. It voted 7-0 to hire an outside consultant to offer options to study the situation. Options could range from a change in traffic patterns to more car-free zones to ending the century-long tradition altogether.
"Even Disney World admits when they've created an environment that could have been made safer," Volusia County Council member Carl Persis said.
It was an about-face from a council that didn't want to discuss driving after a death in March.
Residents are protective of the privilege and some told leaders they have over-regulated beach safety already.
"It's not our job. It's the parent's job," one person said.
A crying family, though, holding pictures of a boy who died running to have fun, was too much for elected officials to ignore.
"This is going to be a monthly event, a weekly event, until something is done," said Portia Patrick, the victim's mother.
Not satisfied with waiting, though, council members offered possible immediate solutions. Cell phone use while driving on the beach could be banned; drivers could be required to have their windows open to hear people around them; and, instead of beach driving, the county could move toward beach parking, just a language change that they hope could limit cruising and traffic on the sand.
The county has seen beach driving grow rapidly with traffic up 45 percent in just the last five years. Almost a million cars drive across the sand now every year.
Previous Stories: July 19, 2010: Boy's Death Renews Debate Over Beach Driving July 19, 2010: Driving Ban Push After Truck Kills Boy On Beach July 18, 2010: 4-Year-Old Hit And Killed By Truck On New Smyrna Beach