Operation Best Foot Forward Expands Reach as Students Head Back to School

As students across Central Florida head back to school, drivers are being reminded to slow down, stay alert, and stop for people crossing the street. 

This summer, Operation Best Foot Forward brought law enforcement agencies together across 10 Florida counties for a multi-week enforcement campaign focused on improving driver compliance with Florida’s crosswalk law. During the operation, law enforcement conducted 41 enforcement details and 516 traffic stops, issuing warnings and citations to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. 

The campaign was designed to reinforce a simple but important message: When someone is using a crosswalk, drivers are required to stop and yield. 

Growing Participation Across Florida 

This year’s operation continued to expand the reach of Best Foot Forward, with law enforcement participation across Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia counties. 

Several agencies participated in Operation Best Foot Forward for the first time, including:

• St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
• Lake County Sheriff's Office
• St. Augustine Beach Police Department
• Leesburg Police Department
• Bartow Police Department



The growing participation demonstrates the importance communities are placing on pedestrian safety and the value of bringing enforcement, education, and roadway improvements together to address crosswalk safety. 

Enforcement Is Part of a Bigger Effort 

Operation Best Foot Forward is more than issuing citations. High-visibility enforcement helps remind drivers of their responsibility at crosswalks while providing an opportunity to educate the public about Florida’s pedestrian laws. 

The program also works with local governments and communities to identify opportunities for crosswalk improvements and uses data to measure whether driver behavior is changing over time. 

The campaign also received significant attention from broadcast media across multiple regions, generating 112 news placements with an estimated TV broadcast reach of 1,042,042 viewers. This coverage helped extend the campaign’s safety message beyond the communities where enforcement took place and reinforced the importance of stopping for people in crosswalks. 

Together, enforcement, education, engineering, and evaluation help reinforce the expectation that drivers should be prepared to stop whenever someone is crossing the street. 

A Safer Start to the School Year 

With more students walking, biking, and riding scooters to and from school, drivers should expect to see more people crossing neighborhood streets and roads throughout the school year. 



Whether you're driving through a school zone, neighborhood, or busy intersection, remember: 

Slow down. Stay alert. Stop for people in crosswalks. 

Operation Best Foot Forward is made possible through the continued involvement of law enforcement agencies, local governments, transportation organizations, health organizations, and community members working together to make walking and crossing the street safer.

Thank you to all of the law enforcement teams and organizations that participated in this year's operation and helped bring greater attention to crosswalk safety across Florida. 

See photos from this year's enforcement operations in our enforcement album. 

Learn more about Operation Best Foot Forward and how your community can get involved at https://www.bikewalkcentralflorida.org/best-foot-forward.