WASHINGTON 鈥斅燩rince George鈥檚 County police and Maryland State Police have been cracking down hard on drivers along Indian Head Highway.
The two police agencies began an enforcement operation in early September to reduce the number of fatal crashes stemming from reckless driving along the 21-mile stretch of Maryland Route 210.
Since the program started nearly two months ago, 鈥渨e鈥檝e issued 3,468 citations along the 210 corridor,鈥� said Major James Keleti, acting major In Prince George鈥檚 County Police District 7.聽State Police have also conducted over 175 commercial vehicle inspections.
鈥淢ost of the violations are for excessive speed,鈥� says Keleti.聽鈥淭hat and drivers not paying attention.鈥�
The high speeds raise concern about fatality rates along Route 210.
According to AAA, police have clocked motorists at an average speed of 78 miles per hour in the 55 mph zone. Seven people have died in six fatal crashes on Indian Head Highway in this year. Over the past decade, 60 lives were lost in 47 fatal crashes there.
These numbers have made patrolling Indian Head Highway a priority.
鈥淲e鈥檙e using officers in the overtime capacity,鈥� says Keleti.聽鈥淲e鈥檙e using our on-duty resources. Of course we鈥檙e using Maryland State Police to team up with.鈥�
Acknowledging that the highway is generally straight and conducive to speeding, Keleti says one case in particular sticks out as a result of this crackdown.
It was around 8 a.m. on October 23rd when Keleti says 鈥渁n officer observed a vehicle that was traveling approximately 116 miles an hour in a 55 mile per hour zone.鈥�
鈥淎s the officer made his traffic stop he noticed that there was two small children in the vehicle. One child was in an approved safety seat, but the (other) child only had a seat belt on.聽He was not in an approved safety seat.聽And we noticed that on the violator鈥檚 record, he had numerous speed violations in the past.鈥澛�
In fact, police say that driver鈥檚 license was no longer valid.
鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e going to do it indefinitely,鈥� said Keleti about the enforcement program. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to target 210 just like we鈥檙e going to target all our highways.鈥�
