|
Home Search |
Published on Friday, February 27, 2004
in the Miami Herald
All uniformed Florida Highway Patrol troopers, including those who usually work desk jobs, will be on the road today, pulling over aggressive drivers as part of a program to curb road rage.
An extra 200 troopers statewide -- including about 15 from Broward -- will monitor Florida's major state roads and interstates as part of Operation Safe Ride, which started Thursday, said FHP Lt. Roger J. Reyes.
The troopers are focusing on drivers who tailgate, drive well over the speed limit and change lanes improperly.
''We take this thing seriously,'' Reyes said.
The program is a spinoff of Operation RADAR (Removing Aggressive Drivers and Road Rage), launched in Broward County in January. For Operation RADAR, the Broward branch of the FHP got four unmarked cars -- three Mercury Marauders and a red Mustang GT -- to monitor mostly I-95, I-595 and I-75 for aggressive drivers.
In the first seven weeks of RADAR's operation, FHP troopers from the Davie District stopped 113 aggressive drivers.
Troop L, which patrols Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties, stopped 302 aggressive drivers between Jan. 9 and this past Sunday.
Because of RADAR's success, Col. Chris Knight, FHP director, decided to launch Operation Safe Ride, Reyes said.
As the operation began, FHP was using marked cars, unmarked cars, video cameras, motorcycles and seven airplanes to catch aggressive drivers. The effort will put more patrol cars on the road than any other time in FHP history, said Lt. Pat Santangelo.
Law enforcement officials hope the two-day effort alerts drivers before the roads become crowded next month with families and college students on spring break and motorcyclists in town for Daytona's Bike Week. March typically has more deaths and auto accidents than any other month in Florida.
The program will continue, to a lesser extent, throughout the year.
''In response to all the complaints, we just wanted to focus on those individuals who drive carelessly and who make our roads more dangerous,'' said FHP Lt. Bill Leeper.
Last year, aggressive drivers received 6,643 citations, up slightly from the year before.
Leeper said judges often will issue higher fines or require an aggressive-driving course for offenders.