Police targeting speeding, work zone infractions, and other aggressive driving
Police will be targeting aggressive driving. The goal of the increased enforcement is to reduce crashes. (Photo: Paul Kuehnel, Paul Kuehnel/York Daily Record)
(Undated) — Don’t text while driving.
Don’t speed through work zones.
Don’t run red lights or stop signs.
That’s the message from the Center for Traffic Safety, as police will be targeting aggressive driving now through April 29. State police as well as 46 law enforcement agencies in southcentral Pennsylvania will be participating in the initiative, according to a news release.
While officers will cite drivers for a variety of violations, such as speeding, running red lights or following too closely, they also will be looking for distracted driving and work zone infractions, said Barbara Zortman, director of the Center for Traffic Safety.
On Monday, a law enforcement liaison documented 17 violations of texting while driving within one hour while sitting along Route 72 just outside the city of Lebanon, Zortman said. It was done to gather information on the issue.
“People don’t think it is a problem,” she said. “It really is.”
Texting while driving is an underreported problem, she said. Unless a law enforcement official witnesses the driver doing it, the driver has to voluntarily admit to it.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Now that spring has officially arrived, road projects will resume or start. That means drivers have to watch for work zones.
They need to slow down in areas where construction crews are working and pay attention to what’s going on, such as changing traffic patterns, Zortman said.
In York County, four fatalities were reported in work zones between 2011 and 2015. In Adams County, there was one fatality for the same period.
Participating departments
Here are some of the law enforcement agencies in south central Pennsylvania that are participating:
Adams County: Cumberland Township, Eastern Adams Regional
Franklin County: Washington Township
Lebanon County: Lebanon City, North Cornwall Township, North Lebanon Township, South Londonderry Township
York County: Carroll Township, Fairview Township, Hanover Borough, Hellam Township, Lower Windsor Township, Northern York County Regional, Spring Garden Township, Springettsbury Township, West Manchester Township, York Area Regional and York City Police.
This story comes to us through a partnership between WITF and The York Daily Record.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
