Cumberland, state police to target aggressive drivers Monday
Aggressive drivers to be targeted Monday
{child_byline}By Trista Thurston
Staff writer
tthurston@observer-reporter.com
{/child_byline}
Cumberland Township police will be working with state police to target aggressive drivers Monday.
Township police Chief James Vogel said his officers, along with state police, will be situated on Route 21 at what’s commonly referred to as Bailey’s Crossroads in Cumberland Township: the convergence of Route 21 with West George Street, Greene Valley Road, Glade Run Road and Muddy Creek Road. Police will be in the area from 4 to 8 p.m.
Police will be on the lookout and issuing citations for aggressive drivers, including those speeding, tailgating, passing in no-passing zones or in the incorrect lane, seatbelt violations and car seat violations.
Vogel said the intersection was selected in response to an increasing number of crashes at or near it in the past two years, mostly due to speeding. He added it’s a rare opportunity his officers get to work in conjunction with state police.
“The state police will make this job very easy for us,” Vogel said of that department’s stationary radar guns.
The aggressive driving enforcement is a part of the Pennsylvania Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project and is funded by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More than 235 municipalities across the state will join state police from March 19 to April 29.
Municipal police agencies that participated in last year’s campaign wrote 44,610 aggressive-driving-related citations, including 27,017 for speeding. Failing to stop for red lights and stop signs resulted in 2,493 citations. It also led to 33 felony arrests, 94 fugitives apprehended, 137 impaired driving arrests and 1,203 occupant protection citations, according to a release announcing the second wave of the program this year.