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Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2004
in the Palm Beach Post
In just over a month, the Florida Highway Patrol nabbed 131 people for aggressive driving in Palm Beach County.
The results of the special enforcement program and the numerous complaints from law-abiding motorists about dangerous drivers and road rage are prompting the FHP to take its aggressive driving campaign statewide.
For Operation Safe Ride, every available trooper -- including supervisors normally assigned to administrative duties -- will be on the road Thursday and Friday looking for drivers who are speeding, tailgating and weaving from lane to lane.
The program will be used periodically throughout the rest of the year, particularly during spring break and the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays.
"It's something that's overdue," FHP spokesman Lt. Tim Frith said Monday.
But state Rep. Irving Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, said the special detail can make only a dent in the aggressive driving problem.
The state needs to hire more FHP troopers and pay them competitive salaries so they don't leave after a couple of years for other law enforcement agencies, Slosberg said. The FHP has 13 vacancies in its 79-member force in Palm Beach County. Statewide, 200 of the 1,775 positions are vacant.
"After awhile, the aggressive drivers are going to realize what's happening," said Slosberg, vice chairman of the House highway safety committee. "We'll be in the same boat after a month or three months. It's not going to work."
The state does not keep statistics on the number of crashes caused by aggressive driving. State law defines aggressive driving as a combination of at least two moving violations, such as speeding, following too closely, improper lane change or running a red light.
The law also does not provide enhanced penalties. FHP commanders, however, are urging traffic court magistrates to impose higher fines or require defendants to attend an eight-hour course so they can understand the consequences of their actions.
In Palm Beach County, troopers are cruising I-95 in unmarked, high-performance Mercury Marauders and a Ford Mustang to catch violators in the act. The unmarked cars will remain a mainstay on the highway and could pull up behind law-breaking drivers at any place, any time, Frith said.
A similar driving crackdown in Broward County last month resulted in 910 traffic citations.