DOT Driving ‘Traffic Safety Culture’

By Lisa Neff

“Be a thinker, use your blinker,” reads the bumper sticker on a minivan parked near the Manatee County Judicial Center on Manatee Avenue in Bradenton.

Down on Old Main, a Prius sports an “If you can read this, you’re too close” sticker.

The people who get behind the wheel of these cars might appreciate “traffic safety culture,” a concept the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 1 is promoting in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

The DOT shares a national vision to drive down fatalities and, according to District 1 safety administrator Keith Robbins, promoting a traffic safety culture will help the state pursue the goal.

Robbins addressed a May 19 meeting of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization board, speaking about how the public perceives traffic safety and the DOT’s “Operation Spring Into Safety 2025” effort.”

The DOT, in a survey, asked people, “When asked what concerns you most when driving?” and the top answer was not traffic jams. About 74% of respondents said the top concern is “other drivers’ behavior.” They said they are most concerned with other drivers, aggressive drivers, distracted drivers.

“We’re taking this to heart,” Robbins said.

He provided some other statistics that were based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data:

• Nationally, crashes are the leading cause of death for adults ages 18-25;

• Crashes cost more than $871 billion annually;

• Crashes kill more than 38,000 people a year;

• Crashes injure more than 2 million people a year;

• The crash rate in the United States is twice that of other high-income countries.

“Really, when we look at these kinds of numbers, (traffic safety) should be a national public health priority,” said Robbins.

He asked the board consisting of elected officials from county and municipal boards in Sarasota and Manatee: How can they promote a belief system that impacts behavior on the road?

“What are some strategies?” Robbins asked and then responded that government agencies need to adopt traffic safety as a priority.

“We need to examine our own culture,” Robbins said.

The DOT district has a strategic plan that includes:

• Advancing a traffic safety culture with district wide communications;

• Engaging with community and regional influencers;

• Identifying, evaluating and monitoring safety improvements;

• Identifying and evaluating opportunities for safety improvements.

In 2024, there were 64 traffic-related fatalities in Manatee County and 514 serious injuries from crashes.

In its five-year work program — 2025-29 — the district includes 71 safety projects, including median modifications, intersection updates, pavement markings, resurfacing, traffic signal updates, lighting and rumble strips.

Thirteen projects, at a cost of $34 million, are in Manatee County and nine projects, at a cost of $24 million, are in Sarasota County.