Clarion police receive grant

The money will be used to address aggressive driving in the community.

CLARION - Clarion Borough's police department has received an $11,500 grant to help curb aggressive driving practices in the community this year.

It is part of the federal Smooth Operator program, which works to stop aggressive drivers and reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities in an effort to make living, working and playing safer for everyone.

Clarion police Chief Mark Hall said as traffic increases and lives get busier, it's no wonder dangerous driving behaviors are on the rise.

Motorists have named aggressive driving such as speeding, tailgating and red light running as the most serious threat to highway safety.

Smooth Operator provides education, information and solutions for the problem.

It was started in the Washington, D.C., area in 1997 and has since been adopted in Maryland and Virginia, resulting in more than 1.5 million aggressive driving citations and warnings.

Aggressive drivers are one of the greatest threats people face on the road, ahead of drunk driving, large trucks, congestion and other concerns.

Officials report 44 percent of drivers say other threats pale in comparison to aggressive driving and 55 percent say the problem is getting worse.

Speeding plays a large role in the problem as excessive speed is involved in a third of all fatal crashes.