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PA State Police Issue 37,774 Citations in First Half of 1998

17 July 1998

PA State Police Issue 37,774 Citations Under Traffic-Safety Programs In First Six Months of 1998

     HARRISBURG, Pa., July 17 -- PA State Police ticketed nearly
38,000 traffic violators during the first six months of 1998 as part of the
Operation Centipede and TAG-D highway-safety enforcement programs, State
Police Commissioner Paul J. Evanko today reported.
    "The Ridge Administration has made public safety a top priority, and State
Police troopers are working hard to keep our highways safe by focusing
attention on aggressive and speeding drivers," Evanko said.
    From January through June, Evanko said, troopers issued a total of 37,774
citations under the Centipede and TAG-D programs.  He said 26,564 of the
citations were for speeding.
    The Centipede program, which makes use of hidden and decoy radar
equipment, consists of troopers staffing multiple-speed enforcement zones
short distances apart.  The program is aimed at drivers who speed up after
passing a stationary patrol.
    In TAG-D, or Ticket the Aggressive Driver program, troopers focus on
motorists who speed, tailgate or engage in other aggressive driving behaviors.
    Evanko said troopers issued 25,528 citations -- including 20,635 for
speeding -- as part of Centipede during the first six months of 1998. They
issued 12,246 citations -- 5,929 of them for speeding -- during the same
period under TAG-D.
    Both the Centipede and TAG-D programs began in January of 1997.  Evanko
said troopers last year issued a total of 78,249 traffic citations, including
59,883 for speeding, under the two programs.
    Evanko pointed out that crashes with deaths or major injuries dropped by
nearly 24 percent -- from 666 in 1996 to 509 in 1997 -- in the 247 sections of
highway targeted by troopers last year under the Centipede and TAG-D programs.
    "We focus our enforcement efforts on portions of highways that are
frequently the site of serious crashes," Evanko said. "Our goal is to reduce
the number of crashes, prevent injuries and save lives."