Law Enforcement of Driver Yield Laws Prior to Back-to-School

Nine agencies to enforce Florida’s driver yield laws in two-day Operation Best Foot Forward

Before more than 340,000 students head back to school in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, law enforcement agencies will remind drivers that they must stop for people in crosswalks. Deputies from all three counties sheriffs’ offices will join officers with Orlando, Apopka, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Casselberry and Oakland police departments to conduct a pre-back-to-school Operation Best Foot Forward on July 27 & 28.

Operation Best Foot Forward is a high-visibility enforcement action to remind drivers about Florida’s driver yield law. At each detail, plainclothes officers will cross streets at marked crosswalks, giving motorists enough time to yield. Failing to yield may warrant a warning or a minimum $164 citation and three (3) points on the driver’s license. Studies show that when you combine engineering, education and enforcement over a prolonged period of time, driver behavior changes.

Most of the crosswalks selected for the July operation are in close proximity to schools where children will soon need to cross. Included in the back-to-school operations are:

• Pine Hills Rd. & El Trio Way in Orange County is near Evans High School with only 28% of drivers yielding to pedestrians and where a resident was hit and killed earlier this year.
• 5^th & S. Park Ave. in Apopka will be the first location enforced as part of the City’s participation in the Best Foot Forward program. Apopka recently added advanced warning signs to give drivers notice that they must stop for pedestrians.
• Florida Pkwy. & Buttonwood Dr. and Florida Pkwy. & Royal Palm Dr. in Osceola County are located near Parkway Middle School, where complaints have been received about drivers not allowing students to safely cross. Studies showed less than half of the drivers were stopping for people crossing in these marked crosswalks.
• Millenia Blvd. & Timarron Dr. in Orlando is directly in front of Millenia Gardens Elementary School where only 1 out of 10 drivers stopped for people trying to cross in this crosswalk in a July study.
• Snow Hill Rd. & Jacobs Trail in Seminole County is where only 10% of drivers are yielding to pedestrians in this crosswalk by Walker Elementary School and the Flagler Trailhead.

Interactive Google Map of All BFF Crosswalk Locations

Schedule of Enforcement

July 27, 2021

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July 28, 2021

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