MERCER CO., Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and police departments from Hermitage, Sharon, Neshannock, Shenango Township and New Castle held a media event on Thursday in Hermitage, Mercer County, to increase traffic safety by highlighting the dangers of aggressive driving.

The event was held in conjunction with the second statewide aggressive driving enforcement initiative, which runs from March 18 through April 28 and includes 215 municipal police agencies along with PSP.

As part of this ongoing effort to reduce aggressive driving crashes, Hermitage police and PSP participated in a speed reduction enforcement initiative on March 28, which focused on Route 18. From 2014 to 2018, there have been 280 reported aggressive driving crashes on Route 18 in Mercer County.

PennDOT and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) define aggressive-driving behaviors as:

• Excessive speeding;
• Tailgating slower vehicles;
• Speeding through traffic lights or not following traffic lights or stop signs;
• Weaving in and out of traffic;
• Passing other vehicles illegally; and
• Failing to yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles.

Municipal police agencies that participated in last year’s campaign wrote 50,707 aggressive-driving related citations, including 30,197 for speeding.

Failing to stop for red lights and stop signs resulted in 3,657 citations.

Additionally, the enforcement accounted for 68 felony arrests, 142 fugitives apprehended, 200 impaired driving arrests and 1,259 occupant protection citations.

The aggressive driving enforcement is a part of the Pennsylvania Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project and is funded by PennDOT and NHTSA.

For additional information, visit penndot.gov/safety.