On Long Island, State Police issue 758 speeding tickets during this month's 'Speed Week' campaign

The results of the recent "Speed Week" enforcement campaign by State Police are in, with more than 25,000 tickets issued statewide for unsafe driving Aug. 15-21.

Police said 14,008 tickets were issued for speeding, 531 for distracted driving and 476 for so-called Move-Over law violations, while 214 were arrested for drunken and impaired driving.

The highest number of speeding tickets were issued in the Lower Hudson Valley region (2,495) and on the New York State Thruway (1,923), compared with Long Island (758) and New York City (397) roads — while Long Island (85) and New York City (80) had two of the three-highest totals for distracted driving behind the Thruway (87). There were 1,879 total tickets issued on Long Island, 1,246 in New York City. The Lower Hudson Valley (3,550), Thruway (3,425) and Upper Hudson Valley (2,920) all had the highest number of violations issued, police said.

But don't pat yourselves on the back just yet, AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair said. The density of traffic on our roads, he noted, plays a role in those numbers.

"With greater density comes less opportunity to speed, but a greater opportunity for police to see other infractions — like distracted driving," Sinclair said. "On the Thruway a trooper might see 100 cars an hour. The cop on the Southern State Parkway might see 100 in a minute.

"We might have more people breaking the speed limit," he said, "but they're probably not as flagrant as they might be elsewhere in the state."

Another likely reason is that while State Police are generally the main — in some cases, the lone — enforcement agency throughout the state, on Long Island there's also Nassau County and Suffolk County police, as well as sheriffs and other local municipal departments.

"We have a smaller footprint," said State Police Troop L spokesman Trooper Dan Ahlgrim, "because we have two of the largest police departments in the country that patrol most of the Island."

For instance, State Police don't patrol the Long Island Expressway, Jericho Turnpike, Hempstead Turnpike and many other major roads on the Island, while in most upstate regions State Police are the lone long arm of the law.

Although drivers don't like ticket campaigns, Sinclair said, the AAA believes they certainly help create a safer environment for everyone on the road.

"A lot of times the biggest problem on the road is the attitude of drivers who don't take driving seriously enough and don't realize how dangerous driving really is," Sinclair said.

"Things that make the road a safer place are the three E's: Engineering, Education and Enforcement," he said. "Most of the time engineering isn't the problem. Education helps. But it's enforcement that finally hammers it all home."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”