Sheriff Michael Schiff gathered fellow law enforcement officers, the district attorney, and the county public safety commissioner on Wednesday to announce a crackdown.

Schiff said the road, a major connector between the Monticello area and Bethel Woods and the rest of western Sullivan, is not to blame.

�The physical road itself is not inherently dangerous,� Schiff said. �The state DOT does a great job in maintaining it. It�s the volume of traffic and the habits of the drivers who are using it that have contributed to these accidents.�

District attorney James Farrell said the problem is clear to him.

�A major contributing factor in those fatal crashes, even involving ones we don�t prosecute, because perhaps the person who is operating the car was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, that is a major component of these types of cases,� Farrell said.

Driving while intoxicated, or with ability impaired by drugs tops the list of offenses the Sheriff�s Patrol will be targeting. Others on the list include speeding, passing violations and distracted driving involving cell phones.

(Source: MidHudsonNews)