Police crack down on 10 dangerous intersections | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

For the next five months, officers will saturate busy crossroads blamed for more than 20 percent of all intersection crashes during a study late last year.

"As the roads are getting busier, more and more accidents are happening. I wanted to try to reduce the number of accidents," Cpl. Nicholas DiPietro, Northern District traffic coordinator, said yesterday.

"I analyzed the data in December. There were 10 intersections that really stood out."

Police announced the start of Operation Reducing Accidents Through Enforcement on Wednesday. It will run through Sept. 30.

Cpl. DiPietro identified 10 intersections in Glen Burnie and Pasadena that account for 20.34 percent of all intersection accidents between August and December of last year. His study didn't include highways or parking lots.

The top three intersections were Mountain Road at Baltimore Annapolis Bouelvard/Jumpers Hole Road, Crain Highway at Fifth Avenue and Dorsey Road where it crosses Aviation Boulevard/Stewart Avenue.

During the operation, officers will monitor the selected intersections for violations like failure to obey lights, failure to yield to oncoming traffic, turning right on red when not allowed, illegal U-turns and crossing private property in order to avoid traffic lights.

Police will be "saturating" the intersections on targeted days, hitting each intersection twice before September.

An officer will monitor the intersection and signal to a stop team a few yards away when a violation has occurred.

"Enforcement doesn't necessarily mean tickets," Cpl. DiPietro said. The purpose is to educate drivers as much as to punish those who break the law.

Cpl. DiPietro said the intersections were chosen because they were often the site of accidents with injuries.

"The biggest thing that I see is a large majority of people who are getting caught in the middle of an intersection. It will turn red when people are trying to make a left turn. We call it the land of no return," said Cpl. DiPietro. "Just make sure you don't commit to the middle of the intersection before you see it's safe to go."

Neither fatality in recent days has been at one of the targeted intersections. Police, however, said the accidents appeared to involve reckless driving.

On Wednesday, a 23-year-old Prince George's County man died on WB&A Road. Police suspect speed and alcohol may have been involved.

On April 25, a 23-year-old Glen Burnie man died when his SUV exploded after a crash police say may have been caused by an altercation with another driver.

Cpl. DiPietro said drivers need to be aware of dangerous spots.