Long Island TTers, beware the Southern State
08-06-2002, 12:11 PM
#1
Long Island TTers, beware the Southern State
Police Crackdown On Speeders In L.I.
Crackdown On Southern State To Last Two Weeks
UPDATED: 1:20 p.m. EDT August 6, 2002
Cabbie John O'Brien doesn't get scared easily, but the stretch of roadway on the the Southern State Parkway from Deer Park Avenue in Babylon, N.Y., to Fifth Avenue in Brentwood, N.Y., makes him nervous.
"I have cars passing me on both sides doing 80, 100 mph," O'Brien said. "Very scary."
That same stretch of roadway has been targeted by state officials as among the seven most dangerous on Long Island. Those roads have had close to 8,000 accidents over the last two years -- most of them caused by aggressive drivers, according to the state police.
"If you're doing 55, they're blowing the horn behind you," said another Long Island Driver.
But starting Tuesday, State Trooper Doug Goller and his colleagues hope to begin changing that. A special team of troopers will be out on the Southern State to stop and ticket aggressive drivers.
The biggest problem, says Goller, is speeding. In fact, during Newschannel 4's visit, nearly every car he focused his speed gun on was above the speed limit.
"Life is moving faster and people carry that onto the roadways, unfortunately," Goller said.
The state police crackdown on the Southern State will last two weeks, but officials plan to continue this later on other stretches of roadway. But the big question is, will this program make any real long-term difference?
"Every day we see people getting needlessly injured," Goller said. "Hopefully, we can get the message to them before it's too late."
Crackdown On Southern State To Last Two Weeks
UPDATED: 1:20 p.m. EDT August 6, 2002
Cabbie John O'Brien doesn't get scared easily, but the stretch of roadway on the the Southern State Parkway from Deer Park Avenue in Babylon, N.Y., to Fifth Avenue in Brentwood, N.Y., makes him nervous.
"I have cars passing me on both sides doing 80, 100 mph," O'Brien said. "Very scary."
That same stretch of roadway has been targeted by state officials as among the seven most dangerous on Long Island. Those roads have had close to 8,000 accidents over the last two years -- most of them caused by aggressive drivers, according to the state police.
"If you're doing 55, they're blowing the horn behind you," said another Long Island Driver.
But starting Tuesday, State Trooper Doug Goller and his colleagues hope to begin changing that. A special team of troopers will be out on the Southern State to stop and ticket aggressive drivers.
The biggest problem, says Goller, is speeding. In fact, during Newschannel 4's visit, nearly every car he focused his speed gun on was above the speed limit.
"Life is moving faster and people carry that onto the roadways, unfortunately," Goller said.
The state police crackdown on the Southern State will last two weeks, but officials plan to continue this later on other stretches of roadway. But the big question is, will this program make any real long-term difference?
"Every day we see people getting needlessly injured," Goller said. "Hopefully, we can get the message to them before it's too late."
08-06-2002, 12:36 PM
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I think the point isn't to catch people, but to try to get them to slow down.
They're not out there to increase revenues...They're out there to cut down on the rate of "8,000 accidents over the last two years." If people know that there's a patrol out there targetting agressive drivers, they'll probably slow down. The only problem is they've said it will end in 2 weeks, so everything will be right back where it was.
08-06-2002, 12:41 PM
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If you're being serious about your question, I can answer it for you...
The objective is NOT to 'catch' folks -- it's to slow them down. The deterrent effect of putting it in the paper helps them to get what they're looking for: compliance.
I know, I know, there are some of you who think that the only reason cops write tickets is to raise revenue. I would have to disagree with those folks. The main objective is compliance.
I know, I know, there are some of you who think that the only reason cops write tickets is to raise revenue. I would have to disagree with those folks. The main objective is compliance.
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08-06-2002, 02:43 PM
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I was being serious about my question . . .
I know why they are out there, it is not for revenue, it is for slowing people down. But my point is, why make the announcement about it being from x date to y date and then it will stop.
This is not the first time they have made annoucements like this and it won't be the last time either. It does nothing to decrease the accidents because 6 months from now a feature will be run in the paper talking about such and such a road and nothing has stopped all of the accidents even the 2 week or however long it ran for Police presence.
This happens all over Long Island. It is more of a Political thing than an actual safety thing. I can say that because they always take place end of summer, near election times and are always high profile.
This is not the first time they have made annoucements like this and it won't be the last time either. It does nothing to decrease the accidents because 6 months from now a feature will be run in the paper talking about such and such a road and nothing has stopped all of the accidents even the 2 week or however long it ran for Police presence.
This happens all over Long Island. It is more of a Political thing than an actual safety thing. I can say that because they always take place end of summer, near election times and are always high profile.
thx
08-06-2002, 05:05 PM
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Yeah, I SAW that cabbie a couple weeks ago! He almost caused an accident he was going so slow;
It was right near the ramp coming off Sagtikos heading east; you have to swing quickly across 3 lanes to make the exit there. Cars were almost hitting each other as they swerved to avoid him. Didn't seem to know where he was going. He must have complained. (Shouldn't be driving a cab if he's that scared, IMHO.) Oh, and traffic was moving at its usual 65-70.