If you’re driving aggressively, Pennsylvania State Police want to find you.
They’re keeping an eye out for those quick lane changes, distractions and high speeds that plague some of the state’s roads, making them potentially dangerous, as part of a crackdown on aggressive drivers.
“Although as state law enforcement we try to do this every day by enforcing traffic laws, today we are conducting enforcement in safety corridors,” Trooper Tristan Tappe said.
One of those corridors on Wednesday was Route 30 west in Unity as part of a coordinated enforcement day among the state force and more than 300 municipal police departments. Troopers pulled over a pickup truck for an expired inspection, and then another motorist who failed to move over for a traffic stop.
Aggressive driving can include speeding, following too close, not using a turn signal and distracted driving.
In 2020 in Pennsylvania, there were 5,615 aggressive driving-related crashes, which are defined as having two or more factors, such as speeding and running a stop light. In that year, there were 91 fatalities and 401 suspected serious injuries in crashes related to aggressive driving, according to PennDOT.
Tentative data for 2021 show a potential 40% increase in fatalities connected to aggressive driving-related crashes.
“We have to come together as drivers on the road,” Tappe said. “If we all try our best to better ourselves as drivers, we could drastically decrease these tragedies and incidents that happen every year.”
Greensburg police participated in Wednesday’s coordinated enforcement. Chief Shawn Denning said the “feeder roads” that lead to and from Route 30 are typically where roving patrols focus.
The enforcement wave for state police runs through April 24 and will focus on distracted driving, speeding and work zone safety awareness, said Melissa Maczko, a spokeswoman for PennDOT District 12.
“The faster you drive, the faster you have to think,” Tappe said. “And sometimes in those short distances, if you’re going at a higher rate of speed or you’re driving distracted, you’re not going to be able to hit the brakes in time.”
Troopers who pulled over a couple of drivers Wednesday on Route 30 made sure to educate them on the Move Over Law. That law requires motorists to slow down and, if possible, change lanes to avoid first responders, such as police, firefighters and tow truck drivers, that are on the side of the road.
“If you cannot move lanes … please slow down the most that you can and at least put your blinkers on to notify that you are acknowledging that they are there on the roadway,” Tappe said.
In 2020, state police issued more than 2,000 speeding citations to drivers traveling 100 mph or faster. A total of 107,000 speeding citations were issued that year, and nearly 25,000 crashes were related to speed. There was an increase in speeding citations in 2021, with 129,000 and more than 2,200 tickets for drivers traveling 100 mph or more.
Anyone who encounters an aggressive driver should stay away from the motorist, avoid eye contact and not engage or challenge the driver, according to PennDOT. Such situations can be reported to police with details about the license plate and vehicle description.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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