State Police say crackdown on I-195 and Route 24 was a success

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

A 10-week State Police patrol crackdown along Route 24 and Interstate 195, launched in the wake of several serious accidents on those roadways, has resulted in thousand of citations, mostly for speeding, and is being lauded as a lifesaving effort because there have been no traffic-related deaths or serious injuries since it started.

The campaign is “data-driven,” officials said this morning during a press conference at a service station along Route 24 in Bridgewater. State Police, using statistics drawn from over five years, found that most accidents related to speed and or alcohol occur overnight Friday and Saturday, and targeted their campaign for those hours.

“We were intercepting the right people,” said Major Anthony Thomas, commander of Troop D.

“People out that late at night, more likely than not, if you’re not going to work or have some legitimate reason to be out there, are probably stepping out of the bars impaired in some capacity,” he said. “These are your heavy hitters … They want that last touch of that drink, and then they’re stepping out to the roadways.”

Thomas said of the 2,810 citations written in the past 10 weeks, 1,448 have been for speeding, many of those for people driving more than 100 miles per hour. Troopers issued 320 seatbelt citations, 75 criminal summonses, and arrested 83 for assorted criminal offenses.

“I strongly believe our increased patrol efforts have saved lives, prevented horrific crashes and helped dispel the notion of Route 24 as being a dangerous roadway,” Thomas said.

The campaign will continue and expand as two additional patrols will be added out of the Middleborough and Dartmouth State Police barracks, paid for by a state grant.