Police Busting Aggressive Drivers on Lancaster Avenue

Written by Nate Adams

Considering how many cars use it daily, how many traffic lights there are and how many people walk along it on a daily basis, it probably isn't a good idea to drive distracted on  U.S. 30/Lancaster Avenue.

Starting July 19, it'll be an especially bad idea.

PennDOT announced its 'HEAT on 30" initiative on Monday, which is a plan to monitor and ticket aggressive driving behaviors, things like running red lights, speeding or tailgating, on U.S. 30 across the state.

The push, which will run statewide from July 19 to August 15, will include "areal enforcement … by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft" to help police ID aggressive drivers and a focus on aggressive driving in work zones.

Brad Rudolph, a PennDOT representative, said that the heavy congestion on U.S. 30 in the Greater Philly area makes it an especially big target for aggressive driving. 

"The U.S. 30 corridor is a big target area for us as far as aggressive driving goes, and the Philadelphia area is probably one of the worst in the state for that," he said.

According to a release from PennDOT, U.S. 30 has seen more than 2,000 crashes in the Greater Philadelphia area since 2008, roughly 20 percent of all accidents reported on the road statewide.