Nassau police steps up enforcement of aggressive driving

Nassau County police will be getting some help in targeting aggressive drivers, thanks to a grant from the state's Traffic Safety Committee.

The Aggressive Driving Enforcement Campaign begins Tuesday, with a weeklong precinct-wide initiative "aimed at identifying aggressive drivers who operate their motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger other persons or property," police said in a news release.

The grant allows police to use additional patrols to look for unreasonable speed, running a red light, failure to yield, tailgating, unsafe lane changes and failure to observe traffic laws and control devices, according to a Monday news release issued by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey.

The grant is part of an annual program between police departments statewide and the Traffic Safety Committee, a police spokesman said, and involves several different safety initiatives in a calendar year.

"An aggressive driver operates his vehicle in a deliberate, selfish, bold or pushy manner which is likely to increase the risk of a collision and is motivated by impatience, annoyance, hostility or an attempt to save time," the release said.

The patrols will give "priority to high accident frequency locations and areas known for excessive speeding and aggressive driving. In addition, officers will also be targeting unlawful cell phone use," the release said.