Ideas to help stop dangerous driving
Traffic on the westbound LIE. Law enforcement needs to be stepped up to higher levels, especially in corridors known for speeding, a reader writes. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Your cover story “LI’s ‘selfish’ need for speed” News, Jan. 25] confirms that our roads have become battlegrounds where law-abiding drivers risk their lives against reckless, speeding, and impaired drivers who face few consequences.
The problem is a lack of enforcement. Education and awareness campaigns are meaningless to drivers racing down the Southern State Parkway at 100 mph or weaving drunk or high through traffic on the Long Island Expressway. These individuals understand only one thing: being caught and penalized. Yet where are the state police and Highway Patrol?
Every day, taxpayers navigate these roads knowing that reckless drivers operate with near impunity. The fatality statistics in the article aren’t just numbers. They represent neighbors, family members, children.
It’s time for both counties to declare war on this crisis. We need:
- Dramatically increased police presence on major roadways and aggressive enforcement of traffic laws.
- Zero tolerance for speeding, reckless driving, and impaired driving.
- Swift and severe penalties that actually deter dangerous behavior.
— Michael Scaturro, Garden City
Two important actions will curtail speeding.
One, have many more state police and Highway Patrol cars on the road. On a highway, when I see a police car, I slow down. I am tempted to increase my speed after driving past the car, but if I knew more police cars were ahead, there’s no way I would speed.
Two, having more unmarked police cars on the road would deter speeders.
— Melody Jacobs, Floral Park
Law enforcement needs to be stepped up to higher levels, especially in corridors known for speeding. Penalties for aggressive driving and speeding need to include early loss of license and impounding of vehicles.
— Stephen Keegan, Levittown
People who continue to drive recklessly even after their license has been suspended or revoked will not be influenced by another traffic ticket.
Create a limit on the number of traffic tickets issued before a driver is sentenced to jail, even if only for a week, enough to make an impression.
— Stephen Sullivan, West Babylon
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