Florida Road Ranger program may be running out of gas

Florida's Road Rangers say without the program the state's highways would become more dangerous and congested.

The Associated Press

4/22/2008

TAMPA, Fla. — Like so many of the people it helps, Florida's Road Ranger program may be running out of gas.

Lawmakers are poised to approve a state budget without the nearly $21 million required to keep the free roadside assistance program going. The Road Rangers, however, say that if the program is cut, Florida's highways will become more dangerous and more congested and first responders will be overworked.

Officials say the Rangers are among several worthy state services that they cannot sustain in a year they are already making about $5 billion in cuts to the state's approximately $70 billion budget.

The state currently pays for 126 trucks to operate in seven districts across the state and Florida's Turnpike. In many urban areas, that means Rangers are on patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week for accidents, motorists who need help changing flat tires or who have run out of gas. They also respond to calls from stranded motorists who dial …FHP on their cell phones. More than just roadside mechanics, the Rangers also have basic first-aid and CPR training.

The program helped more than 277,000 drivers last year, and has aided more than 1.8 million since it began statewide in 2000.

The program may not disappear altogether. Toll road authorities in Miami, Orlando and Tampa plan to continue to pay for Rangers on their own. However, Orlando and Tampa would target their aid toward rush hour, not around-the-clock patrols.

On interstates and other sections of the state, however, the outlook for the Rangers looks grim.

"I haven't given up on it this year," said state Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis. "It's just not looking real good."

That's bad news for people like Juanita Johnson, a Tampa nursing assistant who ran out of gas while coming back from a fishing trip last week. The mistake left her stranded on the shoulder of a busy flyover that links southbound Interstate 275 with eastbound I-4 near downtown Tampa.

Road Ranger Luis Luna spotted Johnson's blue Ford Mustang, pulled his truck behind her and dispensed a free gallon of gas.

"I was praying somebody'd pull up," said Johnson, who had been waiting for help for about 30 minutes.

The Rangers also helped her a couple years ago when she ran out of gas, she said, adding there was "no telling how long I would be sitting here" if the program were ended.

Influential agencies aren't rushing to the Road Rangers' aid. The Florida Highway Patrol _ whose troopers often work side-by-side with the Rangers _ declined to comment on the possibility the program would end.

And the Department of Transportation, which pays for the program, says there's little it can do to save the Rangers given the budget climate.

"We understand a lot of other programs are being cut. It's not just transportation," said Dick Kane, a department spokesman.

While many programs slated for cuts are paid for through the state's cash-strapped general fund, the Road Rangers' contracts come from a transportation account that is also seeing a shortfall.

The Rangers are competing against new road projects, state Sen. Mike Fasano said. The account could lose $1.5 billion over the next five years as gas tax collections decline, he said.

"That's a lot of roads, a lot of bridges," said Fasano, R-New Port Richey.

For Luna, 37, and other Road Rangers, a cut would likely mean they'll be out of a job by July 1, when Florida's new budget takes effect.

Road Ranger Eduardo Robles hopes the program survives. He was seriously hurt in March when a driver lost control and struck him while he was aiding a stranded motorist in Broward County.

Though he broke his leg in five places and is still recovering, he said he'd love to return.

"I love that job," said Robles, 52, of Deerfield Beach. "We're actually saving lives."

Robles predicted traffic would worsen in urban areas if the Rangers are removed from the road. "This is part of progress," he said, "and you'll be slowing down the wheels."

For updates, check www.thetrucker.com daily and read the May 15-31, 2008, print edition.