Police Lights (Photo: Jason Rojas/Flickr)
Cops from numerous state, county and local law enforcement agencies will team up to combat dangerous driving in Lakewood, which has seen a spike in fatal accidents in recent years, officials announced Monday.
Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, said traffic enforcement will be stepped up on numerous roads where accidents have been on the rise. Specifically, the areas around the intersections of Cedar Bridge Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Route 9 and County Line Road, and across routes 70 and 88. The initiative is resulting from 13 fatal accidents and numerous serious accidents that have occurred in 2017 alone.
The prosecutor’s office will team up with the Lakewood Police Department the NJ State Police Troop “C” Tactical Patrol Unit for the detail. Similar traffic enforcement pushes were made on Route 35 and Route 539 in the past two years.
“The Policing Partnership details have managed to raise significant awareness among the motoring public regarding roadway safety issues, but more important it has led to coordinated efforts by Ocean County law enforcement to take important steps toward making commuting Ocean County roadways safer,” Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said.
This enforcement initiative will bring “strict and aggressive traffic enforcement,” Della Fave said, of the various moving and equipment violations that are contributory causes to crashes. Police will mainly be looking for those driving while under the influence, aggressive drivers, improper turning, failing to yield, failing to keep right, improper passing, inattentive driving, disregard of traffic signal, excessive speed, following too close, pedestrian violations and various commercial carrier violations such as overweight, equipment maintenance and brake pressure.
The participating agencies will also utilize automated license plate readers to identify those operating vehicles illegally. Signage will be placed in the focus areas this week.
