Fairfax County Police Announce Summer HEAT Campaign
Traffic law enforcement effort is geared to improve road safety.
Fairfax County police are starting a new traffic safety campaign targeting unsafe and aggressive driving behaviors this summer.
Operation Summer HEAT (Help Eliminate Aggressive Traffic) begins June 15 and runs through Sept. 3. Officers will target moving violations such as reckless driving, speeding, improper passing, disregarding signs and lights, following too closely and failing to yield right of way in an effort to help make county roadways safer.
In 2011, officers cited 142,263 drivers for traffic safety violations in these categories, an increase of 1,621 over 2010.
“Clearly, motorists in Fairfax County have very busy lives and are often frustrated with heavy traffic,” said Capt. Susan Culin, commander of the traffic division, in a news release. “Just one fender bender caused by an aggressive driver makes a difficult situation even worse; we’re trying to do something about this ongoing problem.”
Statistics show an increase in such unsafe violations as disregarding stop signs, which stood at 4,484 in 2011, up from 3,919 the year before. Reckless driving offenses went from 2,788 to 2,863.
So far in 2012, officers have issued 11,906 speeding citations.
Jen Russell
11:16 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I think this is a great idea, even though these things are common sense for the most part. Keep everyone safe!!
Isle D Belle
9:53 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I am so happy about this. Now if the cops could just deputize me, so that I can ticket all those offenders. Just this past weekend, I watched a young woman run two stop signs on Groveton Street like they weren't even there. Can we also ticket people for failing to use directional signals when they change lanes, make turns, pull over to the side of the road for no apparent reason and without any warning? It's all about safety. Maybe police should hand out a list of top ten rules of the road every time they stop someone.
C D Lawrence
12:12 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Isle,
Perhaps they should look in the mirror first. I can't tell you how many police cruisers I am behind that use no directional signals, talk on their cell phones, and fail to use any emergency equipment (lights and/or sirens) to go through red lights at intersections. They speed without the use of emergency equipment quite frequently. I live with a few miles of 3 sub-stations (Fairfax County and State). I have police around my area constantly just as a matter of routine driving. So, I would say that perhaps they are not the most qualified to hand out the list. They know the laws and choose, as well, to ignore them. Don't you ever wish you could pull them over?
Trevor capps
1:20 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
i agree with lawrence.
Isle D Belle
2:04 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Sure, CD, I would pull anyone over who failed to observe traffic laws - equal opportunity! But in all seriousness, I see the same things with FFX police officers as you do - most often failing to signal turns. I commute into DC every day and DC cops are 100 times worse than Fairfax County, so I guess I see FFX cops as pretty good in comparison.