ITHACA, N.Y. -- Due to the large number of traffic infractions cited and observed by the Cornell University Police during National Stop on Red Week at the beginning of September, Cornell Police will extend this "zero tolerance" enforcement effort at least through Sept. 30.

Cornell Police has been participating in National Stop on Red Week 2003, a law-enforcement program dedicated to educating American motorists about the dangers of running red lights, by fielding New York state-funded selective traffic enforcement patrols on campus. A zero-tolerance policy has been maintained for such infractions as going through red lights, running stop signs and failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians at crosswalks.

The program's extra traffic patrols, along with Cornell Police's regular shift patrols on campus during this period, have resulted in 158 traffic citations for various violations of New York state vehicle and traffic law, three DWI arrests and six arrests for aggravated unlicensed operation.

And because driver inattention was a contributing cause in approximately 15 percent of all traffic accidents investigated by Cornell Police last year, motorists on the Cornell campus are reminded that using a cell phone while driving, without a hands-free device, is a traffic violation.