On Friday, a new state law named after a University of Central Florida student went into effect.

  • Chloe's Law requires roadside guardrails at bodies of water
  • Only affects state roads
  • Named for UCF student who was killed in a crash

It’s called "Chloe’s Law" and would require roadside guardrails in front of some bodies of water along state roads.

Chloe Arenas was coming off of the exit ramp from State Road 408 in 2015 when she lost control. He car landed in a retention pond off Alafaya Trail.

Chloe's family celebrated a bittersweet victory when the law passed in March.

“As happy as we are to see the bill passed, it is a reminder that she really isn’t here anymore," Chloe's sister, Lauren Walker, said at the time.

The first priority of this law was to erect a guardrail at that spot where Chloe died, but that may not happen.

South of State Road 50, Alafaya Trail stops being State Road 434 and becomes a county road. The state law only applies to state roads.

“She passed away where there was a county road," said FL Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando. "So believe me, we asked our staff to see if we could do that – they said it would be illegal.”

Florida leads the nation in the number of drowning-related traffic fatalities.

So far, the Florida Department of Transportation has found 85 state roads where safety could be enhanced with the addition of a guardrail next to a body of water; 50 of which already have some kind of barrier installed.

DOT will spend $5 million erecting guardrails for Chloe’s Law, an expense that was absorbed into the existing budget.

But this effort may not be enough.

“Any one location could lead to multiple fatalities," Sen. Soto said. “The law doesn’t include county roads.”

Soto said he has been in communication with Orange County commissioners in an effort to get them to approve the construction of a $5,000 guardrail at the retention pond in memory of Chloe Arenas - and in hopes no one else will suffer her same fate.

Chloe’s family said their next step is to take Chloe’s law to the local level by approaching county commissioners to adopt similar measures.