Department Of Highway Safety And Motor Vehicles Agency Sunset

department of highway safety and motor vehicles agency sunset review joint legislative sunset committee issue paper #3 background

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Agency Sunset Review
Joint Legislative Sunset Committee
Issue Paper #3
Background
The mission of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is
to develop, maintain and support a safe driving environment through
law enforcement, public education and service, reduction of traffic
crashes, titling and registering motor vehicles and vessels, and
licensing drivers. The department also will be responsible for
implementing the federally mandated REAL ID Act, which creates
national standards for the issuance of state driver’s licenses and
identification cards. 1
The department’s programs and statutory responsibilities are organized
in three operational divisions.
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Division of Driver Licenses
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Division of Motor Vehicles
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Florida Highway Patrol
The first issue paper on the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicles discussed whether the department should be continued and
issues related to the Division of Driver Licenses. The second paper
discussed issues related to the Division of Motor Vehicles. This paper
addresses the issues related to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Policy Issue #5 – Should the Florida Highway Patrol’s role be limited
to patrolling and investigating crashes only on state highways?
While the Florida Highway Patrol’s primary function is enforcing
traffic laws on roads that are part of the state highway system,
troopers spend a significant amount of time investigating accidents on
local roads. 2 In Fiscal Year 2005-06, the Patrol investigated 236,209
total crashes. The Patrol investigated 28,004 crashes, or 31.6% of
their total long form crash reports, on rural roads not part of the
state highway system. City police departments are generally
responsible for patrolling roads that are within city limits and for
investigating accidents that occur on these roads.
Florida law does not clearly assign the Patrol or county sheriffs
primary responsibility for investigating traffic crashes on local
roads outside city limits. Responsibility for these crash
investigations is currently determined by informal agreements between
individual county sheriffs and the Patrol. 3 The Patrol reports that
approximately half (33) of the state’s 67 sheriff’s offices do not
investigate traffic crashes and rely upon the Patrol to provide this
service. 4 While many of these are small rural counties, they also
include large urban areas such as Orange County. Limiting the Patrol’s
responsibilities to state highways would allow its staff more time to
proactively patrol state highways. This could also reduce the Patrol’s
staffing needs to better match its ability to recruit and retain
staff. As of June 2007, the Patrol had 208 vacancies, or 15% of its
authorized positions.
Recommendation
Clarify in statute that the Florida Highway Patrol has primary
responsibility for patrolling and investigating crashes on state
highways and that county and city law enforcement have primary
responsibility for local roads.
1 This paper cites extensively from Office of Program Policy Analysis
and Government Accountability, Report No. 07-05, Department of Highway
Safety and Motor Vehicles Overview, April 2007; and Office of Program
Policy Analysis and Government Accountability Sunset Memorandum,
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Florida Highway
Patrol, Options for Legislative Consideration, December 7, 2007.
Additional sources will be referenced when appropriate.
2 Interstate, U.S., state, and turnpike/toll roads are included under
the state highway system. County, local, forested, private roadways,
and all other roads are not included under the state highway system.
3 Review of Law Enforcement Functions Within Selected State Agencies,
Florida Senate Committee on Transportation, Interim Project Report
2002-149, October 2001.
4 The 33 sheriff’s offices that do not investigate traffic crashes are
Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin,
Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades. Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Henry, Highlands,
Holmes, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Marion,
Orange, Osceola, Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Washington,
and Wakulla.