ORLANDO, Fla., October 8, 2025 — A partnership between the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) recently received the 2025 Florida TaxWatch Government Productivity Award. The honor recognizes state employees and work units whose work significantly and measurably increases productivity and promotes innovation.

The award-winning Desk Trooper program leverages secure, cloud-based technology that enables FHP troopers to remotely connect within minutes to those involved in a minor car crash and provide detailed crash assessments and documentation. The program enables FHP troopers to clear incidents more efficiently, reducing roadside risk and minimizing disruptions for motorists across CFX’s five-county system and statewide.

In the first year of the program, Desk Troopers reduced the time it takes FHP to clear a minor crash from hours to minutes, averaging a clearance time of 24 minutes per crash. Since the beginning of CFX’s fiscal year 2026, nearly 30% qualifying crashes on CFX’s system were cleared by Desk Troopers, and statewide, more than 750 crashes have utilized the program since its launch.

“It is a privilege to partner with such an exceptional team at the Florida Highway Patrol to implement this transformative technology together for our drivers,” said Michelle Maikisch, Executive Director of CFX. “Receiving the Government Productivity Award from Florida TaxWatch is a testament to our commitment to leveraging innovative technology and partnerships to enhance our world-class mobility network. With a busy holiday travel season right around the corner, the Desk Trooper pilot program ensures traffic on our system moves safely and efficiently.”  

“As leaders in traffic safety, CFX and your Florida Highway Patrol are firmly committed to advancing safety and embracing innovation,” said Colonel Gary Howze II of FHP. “Over the past year, the Desk Trooper Program has received strong public support, significantly improved efficiency by reducing the need for traditional law enforcement responses and played a key role in preventing secondary crashes.”

As Desk Trooper enters the final year of its two-year pilot, CFX and FHP continue to gather data and feedback from drivers to finetune the program moving forward.

Click the link below to learn more about the Desk Trooper Program:
https://bit.ly/desktrooperprogram_