Memorial Day Weekend

A car at night - Car

Travel with Caution and Remove Valuables from Vehicles

Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest traffic weekends in the Keys. The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone to be careful.

If you plan to travel this weekend, be patient. Traffic will be heavy, and it may take extra time to get to your destination. Passing other cars can be extremely dangerous in heavy traffic, and won’t get you were you are going much faster anyway so just plan a little extra time for your trip, then enjoy the ride and don’t worry about getting ahead of the car in front of you.

Sheriff’s deputies will be out in force this weekend trying to keep the motoring public safe. In particular they will be watching for people who are driving dangerously: following too close, passing in no passing zones, passing in center turn lanes and speeding.

If you plan to party this weekend, remember to designate a sober driver ahead of time to drive you safely home. The same applies if you are going out on your boat and are planning to drink alcoholic beverages. Make sure someone sober is there to bring you and the vessel home safely. We will have all of our boats and personal watercraft out on the water this weekend patrolling for violators.

With many visitors here for the long weekend, we would also like to remind everyone to lock your car doors and don’t leave valuables in plain sight. If you have to leave valuables in the car, put them in the trunk, or at least out of sight where they won’t be a temptation for thieves.

Don’t leave fishing or diving equipment lying around outside your residence to dry, where it can be easily picked up by a passing thief. We get many reports of these types of items stolen from docks, back yards and from under stilt homes. Take your GPS out of your boat when you finish for the day; many of them are stolen as well.

Most of all, enjoy your weekend. You will see a heavy police presence on the roadways all weekend; in particular in the upper Keys as people leave on Friday, and as they return on Monday.

Stay safe and enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.