Troopers to Crack Down on Distracted and Aggressive Driving

In an effort to reduce the number of commercial vehicle crashes, the New York State Police will conduct specialized “Commercial Vehicle Distracted and Aggressive Driving Enforcement Details” across the state over the course of the next year. Areas in each Troop that have a high concentration of commercial motor vehicle traffic along with an above average crash rate will be targeted.   

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, the Troop K Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit (CVEU) and the Troop K Traffic Incident Management Team (TIM) will be conducting a Distracted and Aggressive Driving Enforcement Detail in and around the Bedford Hills, Westchester County area and will focus on commercial vehicles.  Troopers will look for drivers who are texting and using their cell phones.

The majority of collisions involving commercial vehicles are directly attributable to the actions of the driver of either the commercial vehicle, the driver of the passenger vehicle or a combination of both, studies show. Due to the shear size and weight of commercial vehicles it is no surprise that occupants of passenger vehicles and non-motorists accounted for 90% of the fatalities that occurred in New York State in 2010 in which a truck was involved.

The goal of these details will be to reduce the number of collisions involving commercial motor vehicles. Aggressive driving behavior and unsafe driving practices by both commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle drivers account for the majority of commercial vehicle crashes involving two or more vehicles.  

Troopers will look for drivers who are texting and using their cell phones.                       

As part of the enforcement effort, CVEU Troopers will perform their specialized duties at an inspection site and will perform commercial vehicle inspections. The Traffic Incident Management members will conduct moving violations enforcement in the vicinity of the inspection site, with an emphasis on distracted and aggressive driving violations committed by or around commercial motor vehicles.  

Aggressive driving type violations, such as speeding, unsafe lane changes and following too closely on the part of commercial vehicle operators will be a focus of these enforcement efforts.  

Additionally, educational brochures will be distributed to operators of both commercial vehicles as well as operators of passenger vehicles that are stopped or inspected during the course of the detail.  The brochures will contain information on both distracted and aggressive driving in an attempt to educate the public of the dangers of both. 

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