PennDOT, Police Cracking Down On Aggressive Driving
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - If you're an aggressive driver, you better listen up as PennDOT and police are cracking down all across the area.
Our cameras caught several drivers along Route 51 in Rostraver Township being ticketed for aggressive driving.
"It is a big problem and it does cause a lot of crashes," Jay Ofsanik with PennDOT District 12 said.
That's why PennDOT is dishing out $2.3 million in federal funds to local and state police departments.
The money means more officers will be on the streets looking for aggressive drivers and people speeding, tailgating, running red lights and stop signs.
Specific roadways like Route 51 with a high number of aggressive driving incidents are being targeted for the next several weeks.
"They will have extra officers out, overtime or regular time and they will be doing extra enforcement during this period," Ofsanik said.
A total of 320 local police forces and 15 state police troops are participating across the state.
During this campaign last year, police wrote more than 142,000 aggressive driving related citations, Over 64,000 of those were for speeding.
Statistics show excessive speed is a factor in one-third of all fatal crashes.
"Let's face it, it's a 3,000 pound, 4,000 pound vehicle, can potentially be a weapon and cause some serious injuries. So, what we would like to do is we want to obviously focus on people slowing down, not drinking and driving," Tpr. Joseph Christy said.
This enforcement wave will wrap up on Aug. 16. Then, there will be another one just like it by the end of the year.
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