Black Forest Broadcasting

This is the weekend when Daylight Saving Time ends, giving us back the hour we lost  last spring. Rmember, Spring ahead fall back. Turn your clocks back one hour before retiring Saturday night.

McKean County

A Port Allegany woman escaped injury in a car/deer collision Wednesday morning. State police said Sarah Wheaton was going north on Route 155 just before 7:00 o’clock when a deer entered the road from the western shoulder and Wheaton was unable to avoid hitting the deer. Her 2018 Chevrolet Cruze had to be towed from the scene.

No injuries were reported for a tractor trailer operator following an accident Monday afternoon on Route 219 in Lafayette Township. Troopers report Fiedan Chen of Flushing, NY was traveling south when his Freightliner Cascadia failed to make a left hand curve  and crossed the road and jackknifed on the shoulder. Chen was wearing a seatbelt at the time.

State police at Lewis Run are investigating a possible firearm violation. A person not allowed to purchase guns reportedly attempted to buy one in Ceres Township on April 27.

When state police investigated a suspicious vehicle at 3077 Bells Run Road in Ceres Township just before 3:00 am October 21, they allegedly found the driver of a 2018 GMC Sierra in possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

Statewide

 Legislation to prevent dangerous driving and improve highway safety, received unanimous approval in the General Assembly and was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf this week. House Bill 1958 will require PennDOT to create a mandatory driver improvement program for drivers who accumulate six

points or more on their licenses. The driver improvement program is designed to create behavioral change in dangerous drivers and improve highway safety. The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code currently has an optional driver training provision, but it has never been instituted by PennDOT. The bill will make it mandatory.

Under the bill, this program would be required as a way to reduce points from a driver’s record when they reach six points, and when a driver is convicted of exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour. The course would also be required when applying for an Occupational Limited License and Probationary License and would be a condition for license reinstatement following suspension due to point accumulation or excessive speeding.

In 2020, PennDOT reported 1,129 motor vehicle-related fatalities despite a significant reduction in vehicle miles traveled in the pandemic. Because most of these crashes were caused by driver behavior, the training course required under House Bill 1958 would employ established and effective strategies to change the decision-making processes of traffic offenders and move them to make better driving choices.

With the bill signing, PennDOT is now tasked with developing a program that will become effective in 14 months.