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Thanksgiving week: sobriety checkpoints, speed checks from the air on the Keys bridges, no Move Over warnings

From November 24 to 29, troopers run checkpoints the night before Thanksgiving, time traffic on the long bridges from the air and write every Move Over violation: $200 and 3 points.

Leonida Highway Patrol
Wooded islands in turquoise water linked by a long bridge, a seaplane flying low over the Keys

Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, and the Leonida Highway Patrol is putting more troopers on the road for it than for any other week of the year. From Tuesday, November 24, to Sunday, November 29, extra patrols work Interstate 404, Interstate 97, Interstate 397 and U.S. Route 1 from the mainland to the last key, with one goal: stop the impaired, the reckless and the drivers who don’t move over, and get everybody else home for dinner.

Last year, troopers worked 412 crashes over the same six days. Nine people died on State highways, four of them in crashes involving an impaired driver. This year’s plan is built on those numbers.

What troopers will be doing

  • Sobriety checkpoints on Wednesday night, November 25, the busiest night of the year for drinking and driving, in Vice City, Cane Ridge and Port Gellhorn
  • Speed patrols from the air over the long bridges of the Keys: the patrol helicopter times cars between marks on the road, and a trooper waits at the end of the bridge
  • No warnings on the Move Over law this week: passing a vehicle stopped with its lights on without changing lanes or slowing down means a $200 citation and 3 points
  • Highway Assistance Patrol trucks waiting at both ends of the longest bridges, so that a flat tire does not close U.S. Route 1 for an hour

Sober, or not behind the wheel

Plan the ride home before the first glass: a friend who stays sober, a taxi, or a couch for the night. Impaired drivers are arrested, their car is towed and their license is suspended the same night. If you see a car weaving, call 911 with the road, the direction and the plate.

On the bridges there is nowhere to pull over and nowhere to pass. One impatient driver can close the only road out of the Keys for a whole afternoon. Stay in your lane, keep to the limit, and you will be home before the pie gets cold.

Maj. Lorena Castellanos, commander of Troop B · Keys
Police cars with lights flashing on a bridge at dusk, yachts on the canal below and a helicopter over the skyline
Patrol cars stopped on a bridge at dusk with their lights flashing: the scene the Move Over law was written for.

Before you leave

  • Leave on Tuesday or early Thursday rather than Wednesday afternoon, and come back on Saturday rather than Sunday
  • Check the road conditions line before you go, day and night: 1-800-555-0171
  • Fill the tank and check the tires before the long bridges
  • Phone down: hands-free or not at all

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