State Police Aim To Reduce Southern State Parkway Accidents, Fatalities With ‘Operation Southern Shield’

LONG ISLAND, NY — New York State Police announced a new initiative Friday that they say aims to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities along the Southern State Parkway. Dubbed "Operation Southern Shield," the initiative will run from Friday through June 12, police say.

Running from the Queens-Nassau border in the west to Heckscher State Park in East Islip to the east, the SSP covers about 25 miles across Long Island and has been the site of numerous accidents in recent years.

Warmer weather, longer stretches of daylight and a subsequent increase in traffic, police said, can bring an uptick in traffic violations and dangerous driving behavior that can lead to crashes, injuries and, in some cases, fatalities.

According to police, the leading cause of those accidents and injuries are speeding, impaired driving, aggressive driving and distracted driving, “which rest solely on the part of the driver,” police said.

As for what the new initiative will entail, state troopers said Operation Southern Shield was specifically designed to address those behaviors. Troopers told Patch the operation would feature increased state police presence along the Southern State Parkway in both directions, with access to aviation equipment as needed, license plate readers, additional investigations personnel, and a continued effort to collaborate with Nassau and Suffolk County police and prosecutors.

“We have a great working relationship with the county agencies, and our partner agencies that are local,” one state trooper told Patch.

While the operations around the operation may seem complex to an outsider, law enforcement officials said the goal of this new initiative is simple.

“The goal of Operation Southern Shield is simple: reduce preventable crashes, save lives and remind operators of vehicles that every decision made behind the wheel matters,” Police said.