HARRISBURG – More than 20,000 motorists felt the effect of a statewide crackdown on aggressive driving March 25-31 that was conducted by 150 municipal police departments and 15 state police troops across the state during the first wave of Pennsylvania’s “Smooth Operator” program.
Traffic citations and arrests by local and Pennsylvania State Police totaled 20,439.
Police cited 16,223 of those drivers for aggressive driving behaviors including speeding, tailgating, running red lights or stop signs and unsafe lane changes. Roads were targeted based on statistics that showed a high frequency of aggressive driving crashes. In addition, 886 citations were issued for failure to wear a seat belt, 2,988 citations were issued for other traffic violations and 342 arrests were made during Smooth Operator.
PennDOT is investing $2 million in the Smooth Operator program to reduce the leading factor for highway fatalities: aggressive driving.
In 2005, aggressive driving played a role in 1,016 of 1,616 fatalities on Pennsylvania roads. PennDOT funding supports police training, overtime and equipment, such as wireless infrared speed detectors.
Smooth Operator enforcement will resume this summer, with enforcement waves scheduled from July 1-7, August 5-11 and September 2-15.
Clearfield County was not targeted in the March “Smooth Operator” program.
Below is a list of citations issued by county.
Allegheny County 1,557
Armstrong County 117
Beaver County 142
Bedford County 49
Berks County 1,134
Blair County 383
Bucks County 1,237
Butler County 668
Cambria County 458
Centre County 486
Chester County 760
Clarion County 340
Cumberland County 457
Dauphin County 942
Delaware County 1,198
Erie County 400
Fayette County 283
Indiana County 82
Lackawanna County 313
Lancaster County 712
Lawrence County 46
Lebanon County 19
Lehigh County 115
Luzerne County 1,710
Lycoming County 860
Mercer County 252
Monroe County 226
Montgomery County 2,151
Northampton County 404
Schuylkill County 1,129
Somerset County 195
Washington County 508
Westmoreland County 305
York County 801
Statewide Total 20,439