HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lower Paxton Township Police announced they will begin aggressive driving enforcement activities next week, as part of a statewide wave aimed at slowing down speeders.
The initiative will run from July 8 through August 18, the police department said. Officers will focus on targeted areas in the township with a history of aggressive driving-related crashes.
Lower Paxton Township is one of more than 300 municipal police agencies and State Police troopers across the Commonwealth that will focus on motorists exhibiting aggressive driving behaviors such as speeding, heavy truck violations, pedestrian safety, red light running, and tailgating.
Speeding is a dangerous and aggressive behavior that accounts for more than one-quarter of all traffic-related fatalities nationally, the police department said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges drivers to stop speeding and to put an end to this risky driving behavior, because "Speeding Catches Up With You."
In 2022, there were 12,151 fatalities in speeding-related crashes, accounting for 29% of total traffic fatalities nationwide, the police department said. The same year resulted in a decrease in fatalities of 2.8% from 12,498 in 2021.
"No matter how safe of a driver one thinks they may be, speeding is dangerous," the police department said. "Speed limits aren’t a suggestion, they are the law. Obeying posted speed limits keep drivers, passengers, and others using the road safe. Although advancements in vehicle safety and passenger protection have progressed extraordinarily over the past few decades, it is still a driver’s responsibility to control their speed while behind the wheel."
According to the department, young drivers and motorcyclists are especially susceptible to high speeds and represent the largest demographic involved in speeding-related vehicle crashes.
In 2022, 35% of male drivers and 19% of female drivers in the 15- to 20-year-old age group involved in fatal traffic crashes were speeding, and 35% of all motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes in 2022 were speeding as well, according to the department.
Motorcycle riders 21 to 24 years old involved in fatal crashes had the highest speeding involvement at 51%, the department said.
“We are urging our motorists to please slow down,” said Lower Paxton Township Bureau of Police Sergeant Stephen Cover who is the Police Traffic Safety Grant Coordinator for Dauphin County. “The choices you make behind the wheel could help save lives. Ultimately, Speeding Catches Up With You.”
