Westchester Cracks Down on ‘Obnoxious’ Driving

The Westchester County police are always on the lookout for dangerous drivers. This includes reckless behavior such as aggressive driving, drunk driving, and distracted driving. Since mid-July, the department has included another category of enforcement – that is “obnoxious” driving.

What constitutes obnoxious driving? According to County Executive, George Latimer, these are things that diminish both safety and quality of life. Obnoxious driving includes loud mufflers, driving on the shoulder, or cutting across hazard markings. Since implementation, the Westchester police have issued close to 350 tickets for various violations, including loud mufflers. “Our residents are fed up with the loud noise from these illegal exhaust systems. It has become a significant quality-of-life issue and I applaud the County Police for addressing it,” Latimer said.

To date, the target area has been along the Bronx River Parkway, Saw Mill River Parkway, Hutchinson River Parkway and Cross County Parkway. Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason stated, “The enforcement we have conducted is in response to conditions that our officers see while on patrol and also in response to concerns brought to us by members of the public.”

Gleason went on to say, “Our Patrol officers, particularly on the midnight tour, have been vigilant and have effectively reduced drag racing incidents. Our Department does continue to receive telephone calls reporting a drag race in progress, but when we respond there is no indication a drag race is occurring or has taken place. I believe the noise often being attributed to drag racing is actually the result of an increasing amount of vehicles that are operating with these illegal exhaust systems.”

The enforcement of both dangerous and obnoxious driving will continue aggressively in order to keep the roads safe for all drivers.