KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — Holiday motorists who speed a little through selected school zones during the holiday season on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway might get an onion from the Grinch instead of a traffic ticket.
Colonel Lou Caputo of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office donned the Grinch costume Friday morning and worked with other deputies clocking speeds of cars passing Key Largo School, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.
He said he portrays the fictional character created by children’s author Dr. Seuss to give motorists a “gift,” but also to emphasize the need for drivers to obey speed limits and stay off cell phones in school zones.
“We give our violators a choice,” said Caputo. “Because it is the holiday season, if they’re just going a few miles an hour over the speed limit — no more than 5 — what we’ll do, we’ll give you a choice of the citation or an onion.”
When a car is pulled over, uniformed deputies check the vehicle’s license plate and the driver’s license. If all is in order, they ask the motorist to wait in the car. That’s when the Grinch appears to chat with the often-startled driver, reinforce the reason for the traffic stop and make his offer.
Caputo, who developed the program after viewing Jim Carrey’s onion-loving character in the 2000 film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” said the option of receiving a ticket or an onion catches some drivers off guard.
“We’ve had times when people contemplate what their options are and what they’re going to choose,” he said. “I can tell you that, if they choose the citation, we’ll probably have to take them out and do a sobriety test on them.”
Despite the holiday humor, the unusual speed enforcement project has a serious side.
“Our goal is to educate people that, even though you’re hectic and it’s busy, slow down and let’s keep our kids safe throughout the holiday season,” said Caputo.
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