Cops Target Speeders' Worst Spots In Weeklong Enforcement

A statewide speeding initiative running Aug. 1-7 coincides with the NASCAR racing event at Watkins Glen International Raceway.

Statewide, New York State police will focus on speeding and aggressive drivers. Troopers will also actively patrol highway work zones, and will target drivers who violate New York’s “Move Over” Law.

Westchester County Police are among many local and regional departments participating in the campaign. And they're targeting locations where data analysis shows them speeding is a leading cause of accidents.

“Speeding is often the primary factor responsible for crashes that cause fatalities or serious injuries,” Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said. “The enforcement that our officers conduct is essential to reducing accidents, saving lives and keeping the public safe.”

Gleason noted that the County Police enforce speed limits all year round but additional officers will be assigned to the task this week.

The stepped-up enforcement by County Police will take place on the Bronx River, Cross County, Hutchinson River and Saw Mill River parkways as well as in Cortlandt and Mount Kisco.

According to the Governor’s Traffic Safety Council:

• Nearly one-third of all traffic fatalities in New York in 2017 were caused by speeding; 308 people lost their lives in these preventable collisions.
• The number of fatal crashes caused by unsafe speed increases in July, August and September.
• 36 percent of speed-related fatal or serious injury accidents in 2017 occurred between noon and 6 p.m.

During the August 2018 Speed Awareness Week campaign, New York state troopers issued 14,028 tickets for speeding.