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State Police Cracking Down On Aggressive Drivers

NORTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- State police are trying to make local roads safer with a crackdown on aggressive drivers.

From now till the end of August, you will see more of a police presence particularly on Route 19 in a number of local municipalities. It's part of a campaign to target aggressive drivers.

"Law enforcement will be on the lookout for aggressive driving behaviors such as speeding, tailgating, improper passing, red light running," said Jay Ofsanik, of PennDOT.

So far, the 300 participating municipalities have cited 61,000 aggressive drivers this year - 28,000 for speed alone, and 8,600 for disobeying traffic control.

But other safety measures can help the success of the program.

"Unfortunately, we have had three fatalities in North Strabane this year that are unrestrained fatalities – two of those were on the Interstate 79 and one was here in North Strabane on Route 19," said Sgt. Dave Richards, of the North Strabane Police Department. "So again, the aggressive driving as well as the seatbelt enforcement is important to us."

Authorities say the do believe the program is working because there has been a decline in deaths related to aggressive driving and related to alcohol over the past year in the region.

"As I travel the highways and byways of Washington county, I do see an increasing neglect and disobeyance of particularly the yielding system signage on our highways," Timothy Warco, the Washington County Coroner, added.

RELATED LINKS:
Pennsylvania State Police
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