On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, state police and local law enforcement agencies kicked off an initiative to cut down on aggressive driving.
A kick-off event was held Monday in St. Marys, and police officers in Elk and McKean counties are among those taking part in the high visibility enforcement mobilization.
Elk and McKean counties had higher-than-average reports of accidents caused by aggressive driving, PennDOT reported.
“According to PennDOT 2017 data, aggressive driving was listed as a cause in 60 percent of Elk County crashes,” the agency reported. “In St. Marys alone, aggressive driving was listed as the cause in 80 of the 185 total county-wide crashes, which includes 34 injuries and one fatality.”
Timothy Nebgen, PennDOT District 2 safety press officer, said, “Elk County and St. Marys specifically were selected as the site for this event due to a higher number of aggressive driving crashes than normal.”
He explained that in his nine-county district — which includes Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin and Potter counties — aggressive driving is the listed cause of about 50 percent of crashes.
After Elk County, “McKean County is the next highest at 54 percent,” Nebgen said.
The statewide program is set to last through Aug. 26.
“Over the next seven weeks, law enforcement will be on the lookout for speeding, red light running, distracted driving, work zone safety violations and keeping right-passing left,” said Nebgen. “They will also be on the lookout for Steer Clear violations.”
Under the Steer Clear law, drivers must move over a lane when coming upon a incident with emergency responders; if it’s not possible to move over, they must slow down. First time offenders face a $250 fine, and if a responder is injured, they face a 90-day suspension.
“The City of St. Marys Police Department and by extension the citizens of St. Marys are absolutely benefited by our officers’ enforcement efforts during each aggressive driving wave,” said Thomas J. Nicklas, chief of police in St. Marys.
“Motorists in St. Marys were identified as being involved in a higher than normal rate of collisions involving aggressive driving behaviors,” said Nicklas. “These waves allow officers to concentrate solely on these behaviors in an effort to reduce the number of collisions of this kind and make driving in our community safer for everyone.”
Also taking part in the initiative are Bradford Township and Bradford City police departments in McKean County.
When asked what type of violations he sees in Bradford City, Police Chief Chris Lucco said, “We see quite a wide variety of traffic violations under the state’s definition of aggressive driving. I think it covers the bulk of your normal traffic infractions, speeding, yielding, stops signs and traffic lights.”
Lucco described how the initiative will be orchestrated in the city.
“We typically will assign guys on 4-hour blocks of extra patrol to do the detail so they can concentrate on traffic rather than responding to the daily incidents; however, the officers working the detail would respond to higher priority incidents,” he said.
Lucco said the extra patrolling will happen off and on throughout the initiative.
How can motorists learn to curb their own aggressive driving?
“Driver frustration, impatience and anger are feelings that lead to aggressive driving behaviors, so one thing drivers can do to avoid these feelings is allow plenty of time to reach your destination before traveling,” said Nebgen.
Regarding other motorists, he suggests getting out of their way.
“If you encounter an aggressive driver while on the highway, get out of their way. Don’t challenge them. Stay relaxed, avoid eye contact and ignore any rude gestures. Lastly, don’t block the passing lane if you’re moving slower than the majority of traffic.”
The initiative is part of the Pennsylvania Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Program, which is funded by PennDOT and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Learn more atpenndot.gov/safety
