![]() Ken Howes Florida Highway Patrol ![]() Lieutenant Tim Spaulding poses as a surveyor Highway construction zones are dangerous - not only for the people who work in them, but for motorists who travel through them as well. Large trucks moving equipment or hauling dirt, limerock, and asphalt while traveling in and out of traffic lanes, construction workers standing close to moving traffic, narrow lanes bordered by barricades and traffic cones, speeding vehicles, and vehicles following too close are some examples why these areas can be dangerous. In an effort to increase
motorist awareness that construction zones are dangerous and that speeding
fines are doubled in those areas for a reason, the Florida Highway Patrol
in Troop G initiated "Operation Hardhat" to slow motorists down.
Lieutenant Tim Spaulding, dressed as a highway construction worker, utilized
a laser speed measuring device and set up in the construction zones in
plain view in Nassau and St. Johns Counties to clock speeding motorists
as they traveled through the area. Speeding motorists were then pulled
over by waiting motorcycle troopers and citations were issued. During
a total of four hours, 50 citations were issued in Nassau County and 38
more were issued in St. Johns County. Consideration is being given to expand Operation Hardhat to other areas of Florida in the future.
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