Doylestown Township police stop aggressive drivers during campaign to reinforce safety on roads
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - Everyone has places to go, people to see and things to do, but that is no excuse for aggressive driving.
Perhaps, just slow down while on the road, because in Bucks County, going too fast is going to cost a lot.
A Monday evening at 6 p.m. and a driver going faster than the 55 mph speed limit gets the dreaded siren and flashing lights in the rear-view mirror.
"It's every day," said Lieutenant Charles Zeigler with Doylestown Township Police.
In a campaign to stop aggressive driving, two officers sit at the Broad Street on-ramp to the South 611 Bypass and in a matter of minutes another car comes flying by.
"People have different distractions with whatever is going on in their lives. Sometimes the first thing they'll ask is what did you stop me for," said Lt. Zeigler. Right now, Doylestown Township PD is putting an extra focus on aggressive driving enforcement.
"Speeding vehicles, vehicles weaving through traffic, red light and stop sign violations," he said. It falls under Pennsylvania's aggressive driving enforcement and education program.
"In the last two details we issued 21 citations and the vast majority of them were for speeding," Lt. Zeigler remarked. The first week in Doylestown, enforcement was along the Easton Road and Route 611 bypass.
"That right there. That light was red right there," Lt. Zeigler pointing to a violation at one of the busiest intersections in the township, Easton Road and the Barn Plaza. "They were making a left on red," he added.
Mruga and Pranjal Patel are taking news of the crackdown pretty well.
"I think it’s fine. I think it's a good way to keep drivers safe on the road," said Mruga.
"I do see a lot of people, like, if someone cuts them off, they try to overtake them. So that leads to speeding and without turning their flashers or blinders on, they switch lanes out of nowhere," said Pranjal.
Police add there is one offense many people don't know about, especially youth drivers, and that's the Move Over law.
"I kind of saw another car doing it, so I did it, but I didn't know it was a law or anything," remarked Pranjal.
Lt. Zeigler explains, "Whenever there's a fire truck, an ambulance or a police vehicle on the side of the road with emergency lights activated, all operators are required to slow down or move over to an adjacent lane, if possible. It’s $250, but as of April 27th of this year the fine changes to $500 on the first offense, plus two points," he explained.
Police say tickets will be issued for all violations during this stepped-up enforcement.
"Everybody wants to get where they need to go and it's our job as the police department to try and help them get there as safely as possible," Lt. Zeigler stated.
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