Road Ahead

All Pennsylvania municipalities would be allowed to install red light cameras aimed at making intersections safer under a proposal that will be introduced as soon as this summer.

Driver education programs have dwindled in public schools across Pennsylvania, but still offer benefits. In the Lehigh Valley, only 5 school districts offer instruction of some kind. The local intermediate units and private driving schools fill in the gaps.

Impaired driving is among the most persistent threats to road safety in the Lehigh Valley, according to two of the region's chief prosecutors. Lehigh County recorded about 1,750 impaired-driving cases in 2024, up almost 42% over the past five years.

Courts weigh the benefits of punishing drivers for their actions and helping them recover from underlying issues that may have led them to drive impaired, according to the region's chief prosecutors.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, allocated based on BPD data recorded in the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System, would allow her department to expand surveillance and protect everyone using city roadways.

Increased stress due to everyday life, like politics or the economy, coupled with habitual, risky behaviors distracting the driver from the road, can create a slippery slope, ripe for crashes, experts said. Plus, those risky behaviors are far more common than the average driver would think.

An influx of residents and warehouses have made highways in Lehigh and Northampton counties more crowded. An analysis by LehighValleyNews.com finds some stretches of road have experienced increases of 40% to 50% in traffic volume, with Route 33 overtaking Interstate 78 as the region's second-busiest highway.

A five-part series this week will explore traffic and transportation issues in the Lehigh Valley. Increasing traffic volume, dangerous driving and insufficient infrastructure are among the topics examined.

PennDOT has plans to improve the pavement and add truck climbing lanes in both Lehigh and Northampton counties. But the future of a controversial interchange in Lehigh County has grown more clouded.

As part of The Road Ahead, our Lehigh Valley traffic project, we thought it would be a good idea to allow folks to test their basic knowledge of the rules of the road. Take the quiz and see how you score.