Washington State Patrol troopers call it “pushing” when a driver speeds up behind another motorist, following only a car length behind, just itching to pass.
If the front driver doesn’t move out of the way, the one behind is likely to zip around and pull back in front of the slower-moving vehicle that was in his way.
Tactics like that are considered aggressive driving. And the State Patrol is determined to put the brakes on aggressive drivers.
A special patrol targeting aggressive drivers started in early September. At least 53 motorists in Snohomish County got tickets or warnings for dangerous driving the first few days.
“You wouldn’t believe the things that I see,” said Trooper Monty Colver, who watches traffic from high above as a State Patrol airplane pilot.
Colver joined at least eight troopers in prowling I-5 between the Stanwood-area weigh station and the north Snohomish County line Friday.
Colver circled overhead, spotting aggressive driving tactics and checking the vehicles for speed, then radioing other troopers on the ground. In a handful of instances, the drivers being tailgated became more aggressive after they had been passed by faster drivers, and troopers stopped both vehicles.
Drivers know they are likely to be stopped for speeding, but many don’t consider other bad driving habits that can get them into trouble.
Two of the drivers Trooper Ron Whitehall pulled over said, “I wasn’t speeding. What else could it be?” They were surprised to learn that Colver was in a position to see from above what troopers a half-mile away could not.
Colver likes taking the speeders off the road, as well as those he catches “threading the needle” — changing lanes by cutting between vehicles where there’s little space, putting everybody on the road at risk. A pilot since 1969, he has watched so many moving vehicles that he usually can accurately estimate a vehicle’s speed within about two miles per hour.
From September through December 2001, the State Patrol’s communications center in Marysville fielded 4,479 reports of erratic drivers in Snohomish County. Erratic driving includes reports of aggressive driving.
In January and February, local troopers focused their enforcement efforts on aggressive driving and street racing. A check of records for March through June 27 showed a 58 percent reduction in erratic driving complaints.
“The enforcement is working,” Trooper Lance Ramsay said. “We’re getting people’s attention.”
Ramsey is part of the patrol’s Aggressive Driving Apprehension Team, which catches drivers unaware because their cars differ from other State Patrol cars. The 20-vehicle statewide fleet includes sport utility vehicles and sporty cars in a variety of colors — without the distinctive emergency light bars on top.
Ramsay says instances of road rage are decreasing, but aggressive driving “has always been there, and I think it will continue to be there.” He attributes the problem largely to motorists’ frustration over congestion, and being in too much of a hurry.
“With all of the construction that’s been going on, people are sitting in traffic backups, they’re getting frustrated by having to wait. That’s when they begin following too closely, driving on the shoulder, driving erratically in and out of lanes without using their turn signals,” he said.
Drivers don’t get written up specifically for road rage or aggressive driving. Those offenses are covered under other traffic violations, most of which are infractions that result in an $86 ticket.
Aggressive drivers who commit at least two moving violations in view of a trooper are charged with negligent driving, a misdemeanor that carries a $490 bail, Ramsay said.
Cathy Logg writes for the Herald in Everett.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
