Police write 223 tickets in speed crackdown on Gandy

A crackdown on speeders resulted in 223 citations being issued by law enforcement officers on Gandy Boulevard and the bridge over the weekend.

The St. Petersburg Police Department said in a news release on Wednesday that six agencies were involved in the operation. In addition to the citations, 156 warnings were given to drivers.

Speeding and street racing have been recurring problems on the Gandy Bridge and other areas around Tampa Bay.

“The operation is the latest in an ongoing multi-agency effort to address street racing and speeding along the span between Pinellas and Hillsborough counties,” the police department’s news release states.

Most of the tickets issued were given to drivers going 20 to 30 mph over the speed limit, which is 55 mph on the bridge.

“High speed increases the severity of injuries and damage upon impact,” the news release states. “Following the speed limit is for the safety of everyone on the roadway.”

Police said they also cited a number of drivers for not following the “move over law,” which requires drivers to move over a lane “for stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, utility service vehicles, tow trucks, and maintenance or construction vehicles with displayed warning lights.”

Motorists who are unable to move over a lane because of traffic must slow down to 20 mph less than the posted speed limit, the law states.

The other agencies involved in the crackdown were the Florida Highway Patrol, the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas Park Police Department and the Tampa Police Department.