Operation Best Foot Forward Aims to Enhance Pedestrian Safety During Back-to-School Season
The Operation Best Foot Forward campaign targets improving driver compliance with pedestrian right-of-way laws in Central Florida to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities as students return to school.
The Operation Best Foot Forward campaign is set to launch on July 29, 2025, across nine Central Florida counties, aiming to address the critical issue of pedestrian safety, especially in school zones. With drivers yielding to pedestrians less than 50% of the time, this initiative seeks to enforce Florida law requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks. The campaign will involve plainclothes officers crossing streets at selected crosswalks, with non-compliant drivers facing a minimum $164 citation and three points on their license.
This high-visibility operation is a collaborative effort with law enforcement agencies in Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Marion, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia counties. It aligns with the Florida Department of Transportation's Target Zero and local Vision Zero Action Plans, which aim to eliminate traffic-related serious injuries and fatalities. The timing of the campaign coincides with the back-to-school season, a period when the streets become busier with students walking, biking, or rolling to class.
According to a 2023 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, child pedestrian mortality rates have increased by 11% since 2013, with significant rises among 10- to 19-year-olds. Vince Dyer, Program Manager of Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety, emphasizes the importance of driver alertness and adherence to crosswalk laws during this time. The operation not only enforces the law but also serves as a reminder of the shared responsibility to protect vulnerable road users.
Operation Best Foot Forward is part of a broader strategy by the Best Foot Forward coalition to improve road safety through a combination of enforcement, education, and engineering measures. For more details on the operation, including an interactive map of enforcement locations, visit https://www.iyield4peds.org/operationbff/.