The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and state and local police have begun a weeks-long enforcement campaign to crack down aggressive driving such as speeding, tailgating and running red lights.
The cost for the additional patrols is funded by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Police are also checking for seatbelt use.
In the Pittsburgh area, a section of northbound Route 8 in Shaler Township is being targeted. That stretch of roadway has a daily traffic count of 10,380 vehicles, according to Steve Cowan, Safety Press Officer for PennDOT.
There are no sidewalks or bike paths and the area is mostly industrial with retail and other businesses.
Sergeant Sean Frank of the Shaler Police Department says they have had some accidents on Route 8 but no fatalities in recent months.
Several weeks ago there was a school bus crash in that area – no one was badly injured but Frank says, "It was due to an aggressive driver trying to pass the school bus when it was making a turn."
The speed limit in this area is 40 miles per hour but drivers typically drive 50 and 55, said Frank.
According to PennDOT there were 5,755 aggressive-driving crashes in the state in 2010 compared to 4,763 in 2009. In addition in 2010, there were 1,884 crashes in work zones up from 1,519 the previous year.
