By Patricia Lee, Destinites
Lately, many citizens have been wondering if Destin is a beach town or a raceway. A member of our Destinites Facebook local’s group placed a post of concern and it was quickly met with several replies. It seems that no roadway or neighborhood is left out of this raceway scenario. First, you hear the revved up engine which gives your ears and heart a major jolt and then, you hear them blast down the road, as fast as possible. Most of us cringe and pray that no human or wildlife happens to get in the way. As far as the loud engine noise is concerned, there is an ordinance against it.
“Legal exhaust noise summary: To summarize, any exhaust system modifications on vehicles registered in Florida must not produce “excessive or unusual” noise.” I feel very bad for the elderly, as they don’t need this startling jolt to their heart or parents of babies and small children who are trying to sleep because a lot of this happens late at night. I have lived here for six years and what I used to hear a couple of times a week has turned into two or three times a day/night. It has definitely gotten worse.
Here are just a couple of comments from local citizens:
“Snapper has become a through route from Azalea to Kelly. We have talked about speed bumps for years! I believe there has to be a signed petition to the City Council to get anything started. The speeding and loud vehicles are disrespectful to everyone in Destin!”
“PLEASE we beg you. STOP! It’s not impressive and really very annoying. It’s very bad off Crystal Beach Dr. near Best Buy/Destin Commons. You can hear them constantly speeding from the stop sign and racing to the light, lots of people out walking!”
Endangering the lives of others is serious business. People feel this situation has gotten out of hand and are looking for resolutions. Some suggestions I have heard from citizens are as follows:
1. More presence from the authorities at night in the neighborhoods, on Main Street and Commons Drive.
2. Security cameras added to help authorities catch these reckless drivers.
3. Speed bumps added on main roads and neighborhoods.
4. Much steeper fines (500 and up) and repercussions when caught speeding or with engines and car horns excessively loud. One punishment could include a month of daily picking up trash off the beaches, after they’ve paid their big fine, of course, and while wearing one of those lovely, brightly colored jumpsuits.
If you are a local Destin resident or the surrounding area, I invite you to join our Destinites private local Facebook group with currently over 5600 members. A place where locals may reach out to each other for help, recommendations or just to make new friends. If you are not on social media, please visit our website and sign up for our monthly newsletter at www.Destinites.com.
Patricia Lee, Owner: www.Destinites.com
Creator: www.Facebook.com/groups/Destinites
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