Wednesday, May 15, 2013
No pedestrian accidents have been reported in past month due in part to increased safety measures
In response to five fatal accidents in Montgomery County over the first 10 weeks of 2013, Gaithersburg Police has stepped up efforts to promote pedestrian safety. Just one week after a 55-year-old man was struck and killed by a school bus on Clopper Road, police took to the streets to help prevent another fatal incident. Officers were stationed at three high-risk intersections — Clopper Road and Firstfield Road, Route 355 and Odend Hal Avenue and Great Seneca Highway and Orchard Ridge Drive — as part of a pedestrian safety initiative. TIMELINE: Fatal accidents in Montgomery and Prince George's County On their first day at those intersections on March 29, police issued nice traffic citations and 131 warnings. But their efforts haven’t …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
A House bill that would raise the maximum speed limit on interstates and expressways statewide from 65 to 70 mph will be introduced during the current General Assembly session, The Gazette reports.
A House bill co-sponsored by Del. Aruna Miller (D-Dist. 15) of Darnestown and Del. Neil Parrott (R-Dist. 2B) of Hagerstown could force a change in the speed limit on the Intercounty Connector, according to a report by The Gazette. The bill would raise the maximum speed limit on interstates and expressways statewide from 65 to 70 mph, according to the report, and automatically increase the ICC's speed limit from 55 to 70. Miller cited three reasons the change is necessary. “One, the posted speed limit is way too low,” she said, according to the report. “Two, the toll is way too high. And three, the enforcement is excessive.” A separate bill by Sen. Jennie Forehand (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville, would raise the speed limit on the ICC to 60, …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
"Police officers are ticketing speeders aggressively,” Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews said, according to a report by The Gazette.
Speeders beware, police are ticketing the Intercounty Connector at a high rate. Over the last three months, police officers on the ICC "issued about 10 speeding citations and warnings per day," The Gazette reported, including a total of 887 citations and warnings issued for speeding between October and December. Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said he's heard from constituents that “police officers are ticketing speeders aggressively” on the ICC, according to the report. The ICC is patrolled by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, according to the report. Andrews has been vocal on ICC issues of late, calling the road overpriced and underused in December. The road's 55 mph speed limit has also …
Monday, December 10, 2012
A string of commercial robberies in Gaithersburg led police to issue a series of tips for business owners and employees to stay safe.
Following a series of incidents, including two armed robberies and an attempted armed robbery of Gaithersburg businesses, city police are offering tips for business owners, employees and customers to stay safe. Police recommend: On Nov. 27, officers responded to the CVS located at 546 North Frederick Avenue for a report of an attempted armed robbery. Montgomery County police released a photo of the victim hoping someone can help identify him. On Dec. 2, and Dec. 5, officers responded to the Subway located at 876 Muddy Branch Road for an armed robbery.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Gaithersburg and Montgomery County Police Departments conducted a two day “Holiday Safety” initiative at Lakeforest Mall.
Plain clothed officers from Gaithersburg and Montgomery County police departments arrested 13 people during a two day "Holiday Safety" intitative at Lakeforest Mall, police said Monday afternoon. The initiative, conducted on Nov. 23 and 24 in partnership with mall security, resulted in four people being charged with misdemeaner thefts, three charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance paraphernalia, one charged with possession of alcohol, two had outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court, and three were charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance. “We appreciate the efforts and support of the Gaithersburg police and the Montgomery County police departments during the busy …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
"Safety is our number one priority,” said Chief of Police Mark P. Sroka.
- PUBLIC SAFETY
- Greg Cohen
-
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
The Gaithersburg Police Department has a simple message for travelers during the Thanksgiving holiday: Drive safe. “Officers will be out in force over the holiday weekend focusing on speed enforcement, seatbelt compliance, aggressive and impaired drivers," Gaithersburg Chief of Police Mark P. Sroka said. "Your safety is our number one priority." Gaithersburg police are encouraging drivers to plan ahead and be patient while traveling, not to text or make any hand held phone calls, and use a designated driver or public transportation if you find youself to be impaired. "If you see a driver you think may be impaired or is driving their vehicle in an unsafe manner, keep a safe distance and call the non-emergency number at 301-279-8000," police…
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Pepco's Outage Map confirms significant outages for areas in and around Gaithersburg Tuesday morning.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Greg Cohen
-
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
(Update, 1:52 p.m.): Power outage numbers are down in Gaithersburg, according to Pepco's Outage Map, following a morning in which more than 5,000 customers in and around the city were without power. The 20878 ZIP code is down to 236 customers in the dark, a significant decrease from an area-leading 2,017 as of 9:50 a.m. Residents in the 20879 ZIP code are down to 157 outages from 1,387. Other Gaithersburg-area outage numbers as of 1:55 p.m. are: (Original, 10: 14 a.m.): Approximately 5,308 Pepco customers were without power Tuesday morning following Hurricane Sandy's overnight surge, according to the utility company's Outage Map, with the most significant outages in the 20878 ZIP code. As of 9:50 a.m., upwards of 2,017 Gaithersburg and …
Monday, October 29, 2012
City, county and Red Cross officials prepare one of Montgomery County's three overnight shelters for Hurricane Sandy.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Greg Cohen
-
Monday, October 29, 2012
Gaithersburg City and Montgomery County officials worked quickly to set up one of three overnight shelters in the county at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park. The shelter officially opened to the public at noon but officials were in the process of setting up check-in stations and cots at 2:30 p.m. while volunteers from the Red Cross worked to unload food and other essentials for people who might be displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Mario Wawrzusin — a program administrator for the county's Department of Health and Human Services — was overseeing the set up and said the county wants to provide a safe place for anyone in the community. Wawrzusin would not speculate how many people would require the services of the shelter, but did use his …
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Keep your children, pets and house safe this October 31st.
- HALLOWEEN
- Ben Gross
-
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Oct. 31 is the one day a year on which kids (and many adults) let loose and have fun – dressing up as their favorite sports and music personality, movie star or the more traditional zombies, vampires, ghouls and ghosts. The Montgomery County and Prince George’s Police Forces and Fire Departments as well as the ASPCA have issued a number of tips for keeping children, adults and even pets safe this Halloween. For trick-or-treaters: For Halloween party-goers: For pets:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Even leaving a child or pet alone in a hot car for a few minutes can result in serious injury or death.
We’ve all climbed into our cars on extremely hot days when temperatures hit the triple digits and complained that it feels like being in an oven. What many don't realize is that temperatures in cars can reach almost 200 degrees on hot days, meaning they are actually hot enough to cook certain foods, Christine Delise, a public affairs spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, says. Delise says it’s important to get the word out that cars can become very dangerous in the heat and remind people that they should never leave a child or a pet unattended in a vehicle. “It’s enough of a safety concern that many safety advocates and officials have put together campaigns and are working on getting the word out,” she said. Heat stroke, which can result …
Duke Ganote
6:09 am on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Mr. Flaharty, whipping up a frothy lather about speed limits -- on the ICC or other freeways -- which shows DANGEROUS IGNORANCE. Maryland's rural interstate fatality rate in 2009 was 0.06 -- FAR FAR lower that the all-road rate of 1.07 deaths per 100 million travel miles. Why? Simple physics! Traffic engineers very effectively adapt roads for higher speeds by eliminating opposing traffic, … more ›