MANATEE COUNTY, Fla., Aug 07, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Volunteers for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Manatee County Florida are about to launch a first-in-the-nation pilot program in cooperation with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Volunteers will participate in a “Traffic Observation Program” (TOP) for 6 months beginning on September 1, 2008. MADD Traffic Observers will provide vehicle descriptions, direction of travel and license plate numbers of drivers who show signs of driving drunk to the local Sheriff’s office. If safety permits, they may elect to follow subject vehicles at a safe distance while continuing to maintain contact with Sheriff’s dispatchers. During this pilot period, the results from the project will be tracked for effectiveness of the program and will be adjusted accordingly.
“The T.O.P. (Traffic Observation Program) volunteers will be working in teams of two and there are a total of 12 volunteers assigned to the project right now. One team member drives and the other team member observes and communicates,” explained Manatee County’s MADD Volunteer Leader, LaVonne Bower. “Our Volunteers are only doing what any citizen can and should do … reporting erratic driving. The biggest difference is that our volunteers will have received classroom training from certified DUI officers, are operating with safety as a focus and will have also participated in a minimum of 6 hours of ride-a-longs with DUI officers,” continued Bower. “Also, they are volunteering to be on the roads during peak DUI periods from around 10 P.M. until about 2 A.M when most folks are sleeping. This is a great opportunity to make a difference in our own community while supporting law enforcement at the same time.”
“We are very pleased to have MADD’s assistance in our county,” stated Manatee County Sheriff, W. Brad Steube. “DUI Drivers will kill somewhere around 1000 individuals in Florida this year and will injure many more. I want to keep our community as safe as possible for our citizens and MADD’s T.O.P program looks like it will be a big help.”
MADD’s T.O.P. program in Florida is a MADD National pilot program … a first-in-the-nation for MADD according to MADD Florida Executive Director, Don Murray. Murray says that data will be collected for assessment purposes. He says the trained observation teams will use their own vehicles and cell phones. Once they see an erratic driver, they will simply call 911 and report the location, type of vehicle and direction. He says they will make no attempt to stop a subject vehicle or intervene in any way and will observe all traffic laws. “It’s going to be a stealthy operation,” continued Murray.
“Developing ‘probable cause’ (PC) to initiate a traffic stop is a basic requirement in our legal system,” stated Sheriff Steube. “MADD’s volunteers will not be part of the ‘probable cause’ requirement. PC must be developed from the time the officer intercepts the subject vehicle and it will be up to the officer to determine whether or not to initiate the traffic stop based on his/her personal observations. Observations made by MADD volunteers will not be part of the PC process.”
The new T.O.P. program is set to launch in Florida over the Labor Day weekend, the first part of September. “Until we see the results, we won’t know where or how many additional teams will be on the road in the future,” added Murray. “If it works as we anticipate, other states may adopt the program. Weekends will be our primary focus with Monday nights also on our schedule once football season starts. We’ll mix a few weeknights in just for good measure.”
This effort is part of MADD’s mission to stop drunk driving. For additional information on MADD Florida’s T.O.P. program and to offer corporate support, contact Don Murray at don.murray@madd.org. To learn more about MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, visit www.madd.org.
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