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Click it or Ticket Campaign Underway

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State and local police are taking part in a national “Click it or Ticket” enforcement effort for the next three weeks.  The campaign runs through June 10th.

Police are emphasizing the state’s new primary seat belt law for drivers and passengers under 18. It allows an officer to pull over a vehicle when they observe someone under age 18 who is obviously not buckled up.

Police will also focus some of their enforcement efforts on night time seat belt  use, since nearly 300 unbuckled fatalities last year occurred between 6 pm and 6 am.

State Police spokesman Sgt Anthony Manetta says with the summer driving season quickly upon us, they want to stress to the public that the thing they can do to protect themselves the most is buckling up.

In 2011, the state had 509 unbuckled fatalities, down from 524 in 2010. But that number includes 66 teens ages 16 to 19, 32 of the victims were driving.

State Police will offer child safety seat checks.  Those interested should call their local barracks.

Aggressive Driving Enforcement Wave Underway in Pennsylvania

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PennDOT, state troopers and local police have joined together to combat aggressive driving as spring construction season gets underway.   The enforcement wave will continue through April 29th, targeting speeding, tailgating and other aggressive driving behaviors. 

Erin Waters, a spokeswoman for PennDOT, says there will special attention in work zones.  She says they want to be sure people are keeping safety in mind.  There were more than 1800 crashes in work zones last year.  She says most of the fatalities involved people inside vehicles, rather than workers on the road.

Waters says federal funding is helping with the increased enforcement.  She reminds drivers they need to use their headlights in active work zones and obey the posted speed limit reductions.  She says fines are doubled for violations in work zones.

Waters says people can learn more about work zone safety and aggressive driving at drivesafepa.org.

PennDOT Kicks Off Holiday Enforcement This Weekend

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Thanksgiving is next week and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation  kicks off the first of its holiday enforcement programs on November 18th.    Click It or Ticket will run through December 4th. State and local police departments are partnering with PennDOT to step up traffic enforcement during the holidays.

“Operation Safe Holiday” will include crackdowns on speeding, aggressive driving and driving while impaired, as well as seatbelt enforcement.  Erin Waters of PennDOT says the Thanksgiving Holiday is one of the busiest travel times of the year. In 2010, there were more than 4,300 crashes in Pennsylvania over the period, including the weekends before and after Thanksgiving. She says 55 people were killed in those crashes.

PennDOT is reminding drivers to be well rested and alert before they hit the road and avoid distractions behind the wheel. They say drivers need to take regular breaks during long trips. That means getting out of the car every 100 miles and taking a 10 minute break.

 

Police on the Look Out for Drunk Drivers as Halloween Approaches

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Halloween has become a big party weekend not just for little kids, but also for teens and adults.  State and local police have increased patrols looking for impaired drivers through November 1st.  They’re especially watching for underage drinkers who get behind the wheel.

PennDOT spokeswoman Erin Waters says there were more than 12 hundred crashes last year statewide involving at least one underage drinker.  She says people under 21 do not need to have a blood alcohol level of .08 to be arrested.  If they have a level of .02, because it’s illegal for them to be drinking in the first place, they could face jail time and have their license suspended.

For adults who furnish alcohol to minors, Waters says there are fines of at least $1,000.00 for the first child and $2500.00 for each additional minor.

Last Halloween, Waters says there were more 300 accidents, involving 9 fatalities. Six of those deaths occurred in alcohol-related crashes. Halloween fell on a Sunday last year.

Holidays can be a deadly time on the roads. Waters says Halloween usually falls about in the middle, since it’s not a travel holiday such as Thanksgiving and the Christmas and New Year period.

Special Impaired Driving Enforcement Underway through Labor Day Holiday in Pennsylvania

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A special DUI enforcement campaign is underway in Pennsylvania heading into the Labor Day holiday weekend.  PennDOT has distributed federal funds to state and local police departments to help crackdown on impaired driving. The campaign is called the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” initiative. It’s part of a nationwide enforcement effort to crackdown on drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

PennDOT spokeswoman Erin Waters says more than 600 municipal departments and state police are involved in the effort.  She says they want to draw attention to the fact that police will be out there doing checkpoints and roving patrols, looking for impaired drivers.

Waters says the campaign started on August 19th and will continue through Labor Day. She says they typically see an uptick in impaired driving during nicer weather and large holidays.  She says people go to social functions, then get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t drive.

During the Labor Day holiday weekend last year, there were 169 alcohol-related crashes and five fatalities.