FHP ramping up efforts to stop speeding, distracted driving

BRADENTON, Fla. - Speeding may get you where you want to be quicker, but Florida Highway Patrol troopers say it comes at a cost, and sometimes that cost is a human life. 

That's why troopers are kicking off Operation Southern Shield to stop speeding and distracted drivers, and hopefully, reverse bad driving habits.

Tena McCallister’s heart aches every moment of the day. This October will mark three years since her son Dustin Horne was killed by a drunk driver. 

The accident happened on State Road 64 and Vern Bethany Road. Troopers say the driver was speeding, impaired, and hit her son head-on. 

"He was just a bright light in the community and he did a lot for a lot of people," McCallister said. "There’s been no answers to it. No closure to it. Which there will never be. My heart is broken, my family’s heart has been broken my life has been forever changed because he is gone."

On the road, Tena says she has seen drivers that make her want to stop in her tracks. 

"They just want to get where they are going as fast as they can get there and they aren’t slowing down and thinking about what they could leave behind or who they could take with them if something does happen and it’s a split second," she said. 

And troopers have seen distracted driving, speeding, and bad habits increase, both on the interstate and local roadways. 

"The faster you go, the greater chance of something bad is going to happen," FHP Lt. Greg Bueno said. 

Troopers are trying to put an end to those bad habits by increasing patrols during Operation Southern Shield. 

"It’s running a stop sign, it’s driving impaired, it’s driving as you are trying to text, all of these things are so dangerous and the thing about it is all of us have a horse in the race because we all have our families out there. This should be meaningful to all of us," Bueno said. 

Dustin was a son, a brother, and a father. He should still be here today.

"I will not let him be forgotten, but there has to be consequences for people who lose their lives," Tena said.