FDOT teams up with Bradenton Motorsports Park to promote safe driving habits in Manatee

Janice Martinez had just enough time to brace herself when a speeding drunk driver plunged his vehicle straight into her patrol car nearly a decade ago. Now the former Florida Highway Patrol trooper is using her story to encourage young drivers to embrace safe driving habits.

Crash test dummies flung into the air at a demonstration booth showcasing the impacts of a rollover put together by the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Highway Patrol at the Bradenton Motorsports Park on Thursday evening.

Martinez, who now works for FDOT as a law enforcement liaison, was among the FDOT and FHP representatives who met with members of the public to advocate for safe driving habits by passing out information, telling personal stories, and giving demonstrations.

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"I got trapped in the car, and he got out of the car and ran," Martinez said. "He was really a violator that encompassed everything that we strive to have education and outreach about at DOT. He was a wrong-way driver, a speeder, an aggressive driver, a drunk driver, and he had no driver's license."

"I've replayed this time and time again in my head, and I actually have video of the crash, and at that moment, I don't know what I could have done even with all my training and experience," she said. "I just wish that guy would have made better choices, so that's why we are out here to find people we can reach and get that message out there."

The agencies partnered with Motorsports Park to promote safe driving practices on the roadway and highlight that Manatee County has a drag strip available where people in the community can race their cars at high speed legally and safely.

"The motorsports park is a controlled setting. People are allowed to drive fast here, they can do so safely without breaking any laws," Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Gregory Bueno said. "If you have the need for speed, come out here to the motorsports park."

"The problem is SR 64, SR 70, I-75, those are not raceways or racetracks, those are roadways that all of our families use, school buses use, pedestrians and cyclists use," he said. "We are seeing high speeds, we are seeing a lack of patience, and also aggressiveness. All three of those things not only endanger your life, they endanger everyone else's life."

FDOT officials said Thursday's event kicks off the agency's aggressive driver campaign in Manatee County, which promotes safe and responsible driving habits during the month of June — particularly to young male drivers ages 22 to 27. The agency will return to the Motorsports park again on June 17.

"Young drivers sometimes think that they are invincible, and they are not, and that's really what we are trying to get across to them," FDOT District 1 Safety Administrator Keith Robbins said. "Nine out of ten drivers of fatal and serious injury crashes in the state of Florida come from that age group. We wanted it to be a big event, and speedways are a great place to find a lot of guys that like to drive fast."

He also advised other drivers to be mindful on the road, even if they are not the aggressive driver themselves.

"If somebody encroaches into your space behind you, don't freak out, don't get aggressive, don't get angry," Robbins said. "Just stay calm, maintain control of your vehicle, and do the right thing. Be safe."

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Jeff Gingras, a visitor from Canada who took his daughter and her boyfriend to the Motorsports Park on Thursday, said he loves racing and appreciates that the community offers a safe space for car enthusiasts to rev up their engines.

"I'm a big race fan," Gingras said. "I've loved racing ever since I was a kid, I've always had cars to take to the track. I used to race a lot, I like to come spectate now. It's a great community but a lot of racetracks are closing down it seems like, so it's nice to be able to come out here to support the community. It's a lot safer to get your adrenaline out on the track versus the street where bad things can happen."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: FDOT teams up with Bradenton Motorsports Park to promote safe driving