Extra law enforcement patrols will intensify their lookout for speeders, aggressive drivers, people who are unbuckled, and impaired drivers on the North Olympic Peninsula and throughout the state during four weeks starting Monday.
Speed and aggressive driving kill, says Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Brasfield, who Tuesday issued a statement saying that his agency is joining 150 others in the May 10-June 6 crackdown.
“In Washington state, speed is a contributing factor in more than 35 percent of all roadway fatalities,”‘ Brasfield wrote.
“In 2002, it hit its highest level in 10 years, causing 39 percent of all roadway fatalities.”
Jefferson County experienced 10 fatalities last year, mostly caused by motorists driving too fast for road conditions, he noted.
Three additional highway deaths occurred in Clallam in 2003.
Higher death toll this year
Already in 2004, the death toll is higher.
The North Olympic Peninsula’s 14th traffic death occurred Wednesday on U.S. Highway 101 near the state Highway 20 junction in Discovery Bay.
Brasfield said “aggressive driving” includes dangerous speeding (15 mph or greater past the limit) and unsafe passing (passing multiple vehicles, passing in no-passing zones, or cutting in too sharply after passing).
