Solobay: Zero Tolerance for Hazardous Drivers

I organized a meeting last week with local government officials, the state Department of Transportation and the major energy companies to discuss concerns about the increase in heavy truck and oversized vehicle traffic on roads that weren’t designed for it.

Like many other regions in the state, our transportation infrastructure needs new investment to improve safety and facilitate the growth in our economy through energy exploration. 

While the energy industry has voluntarily spent millions on improving local roads and bridges, it appears that some employees of subcontractors have been drawing complaints from residents about speeding and carelessness.

To address these concerns, we are getting the message out to everyone using local roads that there is zero tolerance for reckless or destructive driving and enforcement efforts will increase.  

For their part, some of the energy companies have begun installing global positioning units on their vehicles to track their movement and are enforcing strict penalties for those employees who violate company policy.

Joe Szczur, PennDOT's District Engineer, said the department will continue to reach out to all companies using local roads, organizing meetings and stressing the concerns of local residents.

Our region stands to reap tremendous benefits from energy exploration, but we must ensure that the safety of our citizens is not compromised.

- State