Lower Bucks Police Cracking Down On Aggressive Driving

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — State police and over 60 local departments from Philadelphia and the city's four suburban counties kicked off a statewide aggressive driving campaign this week.

Police in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties will take part in the campaign, which targets drivers showing aggressive behaviors, which can include speeding, distracted driving and work zone violations. Drivers caught tailgating also will be cited, PennDOT said.

Law enforcement will use traffic enforcement zones, increased patrols, speed enforcement mechanisms and work zone enforcement to identify and issue tickets to aggressive drivers.

In Lower Bucks and nearby central Bucks, the departments participating in the campaign are:

• Bristol Township
• Lower Southampton Township
• Middletown Township
• Newtown Borough
• Northampton Township
• Penndel Borough
• Solebury Township
• Warrington Township
• Warwick Township
• Yardley Borough

Other Bucks County departments participating include Bedminster, Buckingham, Hilltown, Plumstead, Quakertown and Richland.

Police wrote more than 43,000 citations, including 22,000 for speeding, 1,000 for occupant protection violations and 3,000 for red light violations, during last year's campaign. They also made 126 impaired driving arrests.

The enforcement is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project and is partially funded by federal money from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

If you encounter an aggressive driver, PennDOT offers these tips:

• Get out of their way and don't challenge them;
• Stay relaxed, avoid eye contact and ignore rude gestures; and
• Don't block the passing lane if you are driving slower than most of the traffic.