Traffic Unit

City of Jacksonville Beach Traffic Management Policy

Traffic Management is a top concern for residents and elected officials in Jacksonville Beach.  The City faces challenges to ensure the safety of the motoring public, to include residents and visitors.  The City has numerous high-volume roadways, and vehicular traffic is steadily increasing, placing more pressure on an already strained transportation system.  This pressure has now caused secondary roadways to experience higher traffic volumes. 

The Police Department has finite resources and must direct them to where they are most needed.  The Police Department, however, is committed to evaluate each traffic complaint using data to validate or not validate the alleged infractions.  This section will codify the process to evaluate traffic complaints, and it addresses other issues of note that will assist in explaining the traffic strategy to citizens and elected officials. 

Goal:  To attain voluntary compliance of traffic laws by the motoring public to make them safer. 

Objectives:

• Direct finite traffic enforcement resources to where they are most needed;

• Identify causes and locations of injury crashes;

• Direct enforcement to decrease injury crashes;

• Identify high-crash locations;

• Direct enforcement to high-crash locations;

• Educate the public about traffic safety and traffic management; and

• Through data analysis, differentiate between actual traffic infractions at complaint locations and the perception of traffic infractions at complaint locations.

Procedures:  The procedures below will be followed to address traffic complaints from citizens.

• The traffic complaint may be formal or informal and can be received in any manner by the Police Department (e.g., email, call, referral, etc.);

• An informal complaint is defined as a one-time and/or nonspecific complaint (as to time of day, day of week, etc.), and based on the totality of circumstances, does not require a traffic survey;

• The informal traffic complaint will be assigned to a squad(s) or the entire patrol division to take some kind of action and will usually be documented in both directions by email;

• The informal traffic complaint’s actions should have an expiration date and should not be open ended;

• A formal complaint is defined as multiple and/or specific complaints and based on the totality of circumstances requires a traffic survey to be completed;

• The formal complaint will be referred to a traffic officer to complete a traffic survey.The survey may consist of a sample(s) of data from electronic devices or personal observation (whichever is most appropriate) for the applicable period of time. Traffic crash data from that location will be analyzed, and the Traffic Officer will also consult the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (US DOT).The manual can also prove useful with school zone complaints.The traffic officer will then forward the results and his/her recommendation to the Division Commander.The Division Commander will forward the recommendations to the Chief of Police. If the violations are found to exist, actions may include (but not be limited to) increased enforcement, signage, or engineering action involving the Public Works Department. If the violations are proved to be merely perceived violations by the complainant, no further action will be taken.In both cases, the complainant will be notified of the results; and

• If the complaint is excessive speed at a location, speed data will be accumulated, and if the 85^th percentile of the vehicle traffic is not found to be in violation of the posted speed, no further action will be taken, and the complaint will not be revisited for six months per department policy.If the 85^th percentile requirement is met, appropriate enforcement action will be taken.

Speed Bumps/Humps

Speed bumps/humps are not an approved method of traffic control for the City.  Speed bumps are often mentioned as a solution to slow down drivers on residential streets.  Many times speeding is only a perceived problem that electronic monitoring data does not support.  Also, many times the VOLUME of traffic on a residential street is perceived as a speeding problem. 

The installation of speed bumps/humps may also result in the following problems/issues:

• Increased noise level where installed from drivers slowing down and speeding up.Noise is also caused by the vehicle going over the speed bump;

• Reduces response times for emergency vehicles;

• Diversion of traffic to other roadways, resulting in the demand for speed bumps/humps on those roadways;

• Drivers attempt to partially avoid them by driving on the extreme right side of the road, traveling over or into lawns and private property. This also endangers the very people the speed bumps are intended to protect;

• Damage to vehicles;

• Other residents of the street or neighborhood may not want them;

• Defining objective criteria of where to install them.Nationally, many are installed for political purposes only to eliminate complaints;

• Defining objective criteria of where and when to remove them, should they be ineffective or the residents’ desires change; and

• Speed humps (25-30 miles per hour) have minimal effect on speeding because they are too gradual.Speed bumps (0-5 miles per hour) have the potential for impacts (listed above) due to their acute impact.

Stop Signs

Stop signs are often suggested by residents to control speed. A stop sign is one of our most valuable and effective control devices when used at the right place and under the right conditions (i.e., high-crash intersections). It is intended to help drivers and pedestrians at an intersection decide who has the right-of-way.

One common misuse of stop signs is to arbitrarily interrupt through traffic, either by causing it to stop, or by causing such an inconvenience as to force the traffic to use other routes. Where stop signs are installed as "nuisances" or "speed breakers," there is a high incidence of intentional violation. In those locations where vehicles do stop, the speed reduction is effective only in the immediate vicinity of the stop sign, and frequently speeds are actually higher between intersections. The unnecessary stop sign installation shares some of the effects of the speed bumps. For these reasons, it should not be used as a speed control device.

Traffic Unit

The Traffic Unit was created to reduce traffic related incidents making our community a safer place to drive, bike, walk and play.

The Traffic Unit accomplishes its goals by being proactive in enforcing traffic laws, conducting traffic surveys, and investigating traffic complaints and traffic crashes. Officers assigned to the unit work with the community to identify traffic problems throughout the city. As problems are identified the unit works with city planners to reduce or eliminate the problems whenever possible. 

Traffic Officers use various pieces of equipment such as RADAR, in-car video systems and other speed-measuring devices to track drivers' actions. They participate in D.U.I. check points and Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs (S.T.E.P.) working to prevent crashes and gain driver compliance with traffic laws.

Traffic Homicide Unit – T.H.I.

Traffic Unit Officers have special training that equips them with the knowledge to investigate serious or fatal crashes. Officers participate in continuing intense, technical coursework involving complex vehicle dynamics and crash reconstruction.

Florida Move Over Law

You may have seen our officers at work. Help them by following the new law.

Slow Down… Move Over.

• On a two-lane roadway, you are required to slow to a speed that is 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit.
• If the speed limit is 20 miles per hour or less, you must slow down to five miles per hour.
• If you are driving on an interstate or roadway with multiple lanes of travel in the same direction, and you approach an emergency or law enforcement vehicle parked along the roadway, you must vacate the lane closest to that vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
• If you are not able to safely move over, you must slow down to a speed of 20 MPH below the posted speed limit unless directed otherwise by a law enforcement officer.

F.A.Q. About Traffic

What should I do if I am involved in a traffic crash?

• You must stop!
• Do not leave the scene of a traffic accident. If you leave without providing your information, your license may be revoked.
• Drivers are required to exchange the following information:
  • Full name;
  • Current living address;
  • Vehicle registration, tag, VIN, make, and model; and
  • Phone numbers of all persons in the crash.
• Do not block traffic! Move your vehicle quickly out of the roadway. If you cannot move your vehicle, contact police.

If no one is injured and property damage is less than $500.00, you can report your own crash using the State Driver Report of Traffic Crash Form. Please complete all of the applicable areas and mail a copy of the report to:

Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles
Traffic Crash Records Section
Tallahassee, Fl. 32399

Keep a copy of this report for your records and insurance purposes. Remember to sign the report.

When do I have to report a crash to the Police?

A driver of a vehicle involved in a crash must immediately contact local law enforcement under the following conditions:

• The crash resulted in injury or death;
• Another vehicle or other property was damaged; and/or
• The vehicle or property was unattended and you cannot locate the owner.

How do I get a copy of my crash report?

The officer will give you a case number. Give this number to your auto insurance company if filing a claim.  You can obtain a copy of your crash report by contacting Police Records.