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Published on Saturday, January 10, 2004
in the Miami Herald
Florida Highway Patrol troopers get behind the wheels of souped-up, unmarked patrol cars to rid the highways of aggressive drivers and to cut down on road rage.
Drivers, be warned: The Florida Highway Patrol is now scanning highways for motorists who not only press the pedal to the metal, but also drive aggressively, such as weaving through traffic and tailgating.
And you won't know where they are until you see the flashing lights reflected in your rearview mirror.
''Save the excuses, because if you see these cars behind you with the blue lights flashing, it's too late,'' said highway patrol Lt. Bill Ferrell.
Faced with a growing concern over aggressive drivers and incidents of road rage on all of South Florida's highways, FHP unveiled its new plan for putting the brakes on hazardous drivers: Operation RADAR (Removing Aggressive Drivers and Road Rage).
Palm Beach troopers will kick off a similar program Jan. 23. Miami-Dade troopers plan to start theirs by the end of the month.
At FHP headquarters in Davie Friday, troopers proudly displayed the agency's four unmarked cars -- three Mercury Marauders and a red Mustang GT -- which quickly hit the roadways following the morning presentation.
Four troopers will be assigned to the cars, one of which will be on the highways at all times, Ferrell said. The troopers will focus I-595, I-95 and I-75.
The cars are equipped with front and back radar, front- and rear-mounted video cameras and, on occasion, will be assisted from above by troopers in aircrafts, who will alert police to aggressive drivers.
Trooper Robert Boody said officers who work with radar can visually estimate within two miles how fast a vehicle is moving. The eyeball estimation is confirmed with the radar gun.
When the trooper hits a button, the radar transmits a signal that zooms in on a particular vehicle and confirms high rates of speed.
As Boody traveled south on I-75, he smiled as cars passed him. ''I'm not used to driving an unmarked unit and having people pass me by,'' he said.
He eyed a Nissan Pathfinder crossing several lanes of I-75 -- a sign of an aggressive driver. Boody hit the radar button: The Nissan was traveling 90 mph.
The patrolman drove behind the SUV, counting the number of times the Pathfinder weaved in and out of lanes -- nine.
''OK, time to pull him over,'' Boody said. He cited the Nissan driver for speeding with a notation for aggressive driving.
Boody averages about 150 tickets a month.
''We've found that there is a correlation between aggressive driving and road rage,'' Boody said. ``That's why we're cracking down.''
According to a 2001 statute, an aggressive driver is someone who commits two moving violations, such as exceeding the posted speed limit by 15 mph, tailgating or improper lane changing.
Last year, FHP issued about 2,300 tickets for aggressive driving on Broward highways -- 1,000 more than in 2002, Ferrell said.
''The message we're going to be getting out there is that we will have a zero tolerance toward aggressive driving,'' Ferrell said.