Philadelphia Police Cracking Down On Aggressive Driving

PHILADELPHIA — Aggressive drivers have been put on notice.

Police in Philadelphia are joining a major effort to crack down on aggressive driving during the summer.

Philadelphia Police are joining numerous municipal departments as well as Pennsylvania State Police in a coordinated aggressive driving enforcement wave to help reduce the number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities on area roadways as part of a statewide mobilization.

The initiative will run through Aug. 21.

Enforcement wave will focus on heavy truck violations, pedestrian safety, red light running, and tailgating.

Drivers exhibiting other unsafe behaviors such as driving too fast for conditions, following too closely, or other aggressive actions will also be cited.

Police will use traffic enforcement zones, saturation patrols, speed enforcement details, corridor enforcement, work zone enforcement, and multi-jurisdictional patrol strategies to identify and cite aggressive drivers.

If you encounter an aggressive driver, PennDOT recommends the following:

• Get out of their way and don't challenge them.
• Stay relaxed, avoid eye contact, and ignore rude gestures.
• Don't block the passing lane if you are driving slower than most of the traffic.
• Do not attempt to follow or pursue the vehicle. You or a passenger may call the police. But, if you use a cell phone, pull over to a safe location.

According to PennDOT, 1,483 aggressive driving crashes resulted in 27 fatalities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties last year

Aggressive driving crashes are crashes involving at least two aggressive driving factors in the same crash.

Factors include, but are not limited to, running stop signs or red lights, tailgating, careless turning or passing, and driving too fast for conditions.