The 2016 awards the Live Oak Police Department won from the Florida Department of Transportation Friday, July 8.

LIVE OAK – The Live Oak Police Department won a new 2016 Chevrolet Impala and three awards on Friday, July 8, from the Florida Department of Transportation for their effort to promote public safety to reduce traffic fatalities.

The department won first in the Click It Or Ticket challenge, first in the Florida DUI challenge and second in the Florida Law Enforcement challenge.

The police department submits how many traffic stops they make and how many citations and warnings were written.

The FDOT then reviews all of the stats and compares the number of citations written for DUIs and unbuckled seat belts to other similarly sized departments.

“The stats are gathered to one day reach zero,” said Live Oak Police Chief Buddy Williams. “The effort is to promote public safety and to educate the public on traffic enforcement.”

Awards weren’t the only things given away at the event. Four vehicles were given to police departments that won first place in their categories.

Williams picked the winning key for the Click It Or Ticket award.

“We placed in every division,” Williams said. “And it just shows the dedication the men and women in this agency have to promoting traffic safety.”