FHP to step up patrols as holiday travelers hit the roads

CENTRAL FLORIDA — As central Florida roads get crowded with holiday travelers, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said they will be keeping a close eye on certain roads that they call hot spots.

One of them is Interstate 4 eastbound near the St. Johns River bridge.

Another is Interstate 95 in Brevard County between Titusville and Rockledge.

Troopers will be monitoring 400 cameras closely over the Thanksgiving holiday.

With I-4 eastbound, I-95 in Brevard and I-75 near the turnpike being hotspots for traffic and crashes, FHP plans to have more troopers on the road than normal.

They said they will have officers in patrol cars and motorcycles responding to crashes and catching drivers violating traffic laws.

Last year over the Thanksgiving holiday, there were more than 2,000 crashes in the state, 30 of those were fatal.

Troopers said Brevard County is a hotspot mostly because of the widening project along the interstate that has created different traffic patterns for drivers.

"Why not have a trooper stationed at a specific spot if you know it's a problem spot?" WFTV's Racquel Asa asked Sgt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol.

"Well, it's really not efficient for us to station someone in a specific area because sometimes that can cause a visual distraction," said Montes.

FHP will also be doing speed enforcement using a helicopter along parts of I-4 and the Greenway.

WFTV