WILLISTON, Vt. -
State police troopers writing tickets weren't an uncommon sight on Vermont roads this summer. They wrote hundreds of tickets as part of "Operation Summer HEAT".
The reason: police wanted to slow down the alarming rise of deaths on Vermont's roads. During the first six months of 2012 42 people died.
And despite the crackdown, it's now at 57. That means, during the state police crackdown, the death toll rose more than 25%.
"It frightens me, it frightens any, you know, knowing that my kids are on the road driving," said Joanne O'Hare.
It wasn't just tickets; state police also flashed messages on highway signs. But some drivers say no matter how many tickets they write, it won't work.
"Well the vast majority will just disregard it," said Bob Smith.
One area police did succeed in was stopping the numbers of drivers who were going dangerously fast. But they admit they're puzzled as to how to solve this growing concern.
"We can't quite put the finger on what's causing this problem," said Vermont State Police Lt John Flannigan.
The signs have stopped flashing but state police say their job isn't done. Instead of having the program run from July 4th through the beginning of September they want it to happen all summer long from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Even if there isn't an official campaign, police say they're doing what they can to save people's lives.
"Even though "Operation HEAT" has stopped we're going to continue to do as much enforcement as we can throughout the year," said Flannigan.
Another alarming stat: the number of 2012 deaths has surpassed all of 2011. But state police say last year was the lowest number in nearly 70 years.
