Published on Saturday, February 26, 2005
in the Gainesville Sun

Troopers target aggressive drivers

As his windshield wipers swished back and forth to clear the rain from his view, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Berger was watching and waiting.

And as the rain fell on Interstate 75 on Friday, there was more waiting than usual, since the wet weather slowed many drivers down.

"The rain has definitely put a damper on things," Berger said. "Usually, they're flying by me."

State troopers like Berger were out in full force during Operation Safe Ride, a two-daylong intensive enforcement operation on Thursday and Friday targeting aggressive drivers. The operation was scheduled with the expected influx of college students on Spring Break to Florida and the trickling departure of snowbirds back to their homes in the North, FHP spokesman Lt. Mike Burroughs said.

With the aid of a radar, cameras and his trained eyes, Berger was on the lookout for aggressive drivers. Cars whizzed past - most doing the speed limit, but some clocked in at high speeds.

When a gray Pontiac Bonneville flew by heading south on I-75 at 85 mph, Berger sprang into action and caught up with the car, flashing his red and blue lights and pulling the car over. The price for speeding came with a hefty $158.50 ticket and four points tacked onto the driver's license.

An "aggressive driver" is someone who commits two or more moving violations - usually a combination of speeding and other risky driving habits such as tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic or not using turn signals, Berger said.

"It's unbelievable what people will do when they don't know they're being watched," Berger said.

In a cat and mouse game of "catch me if you can," Berger uses an unmarked maroon Mercury Marauder to get the upper hand in the game. The $40,000 "stealth" car is the FHP's newest weapon in the fight against aggressive driving on Florida's roadways. It is outfitted with a modified 302 horsepower engine, digital and infrared video recording, front-and-back radar and regular license plates. The Gainesville FHP troop has just one of these vehicles.

"I prefer the Marauder," Berger said. "It's a much more comfortable ride, but the disadvantage is that when I'm going after someone, people don't move (out of the way) as quickly when they see an unmarked car."

During Operation Safe Ride on Friday, a 12-hourlong countywide, multi-agency initiative called Operation ACE took place in Alachua County. The purpose of ACE, or Aggressive Concentrated Enforcement, is to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in Alachua County, Burroughs said. Through major publicity efforts, Burroughs said he hopes people will get the message that there will be zero tolerance for aggressive drivers and road rage - which he describes as an epidemic.

"The Florida Highway Patrol is declaring war on aggressive drivers who we see turning our state roadways into very hazardous racing arenas," Burroughs said. "It begins with just one person having a bad day."