PennDOT Partners with Police Departments to Target Aggressive Driving During Enforcement Initiative

| July 10, 2018

VENANGO CO., Pa. – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and 232 municipal police agencies are conducting a regional aggressive-driving wave as part of the national mobilization that started on Monday, July 9, and continues through August 26, 2018.

To promote safety, police departments will target motorists exhibiting aggressive-driving behaviors such as red light running, speeding, tailgating and failing to steer clear of emergency vehicles.

The enforcement wave coincides with National Stop on Red Week (August 5 to 11, 2018).

The following northwest Pennsylvania police departments are participating in the initiative:

• Crawford County — Meadville Police Department;
• Erie County — City of Erie and Millcreek Township;
• Mercer County — City of Hermitage;
• Venango County — City of Franklin, City of Oil City and Sugarcreek Borough; and
• Warren County — City of Warren and Conewango Township.

Speeding and other aggressive-driving behaviors are major factors in Pennsylvania crashes. According to PennDOT data, speeding played a role in 31,051 crashes in 2017, including 441 fatal crashes.

The goal of the initiative is to reduce the number of aggressive-driving related crashes, injuries, and deaths. Police will be on the lookout for aggressive driving behaviors such as running red lights, failing to obey stop signs, and speeding. Motorists spotted driving too fast for conditions, following too closely, texting, or other aggressive-driving actions will also be cited.

Municipal police agencies that participated in last year’s campaign wrote 27,711 aggressive-driving related citations, including 11,858 for speeding. Failing to traffic control devices like stop signs and red lights was the second most-common offense, resulting in 1,440 citations.

The aggressive driving enforcement is a part of the Pennsylvania Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project and is funded by the PennDOT and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

For additional information on aggressive driving, go online to www.penndot/gov/safety.

Below is a table showing the number of crashes and fatalities attributed to aggressive driving behaviors and distracted driving statewide in 2017, according to PennDOT data.

Contributing Factor Crashes Fatal crashes
Speed-Related 31,051 441
Distracted Driver 15,614 58
Improper Turning-Related 14,004 60
Proceeded Without Clearance 8,967 64
Careless/Illegal Passing 4,793 54
Tailgating 6,800 19

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