FHP plans crackdown on aggressive drivers in coming days -- POLL

NAPLES — Drivers who take their frustrations out on the road may want to be on their best behavior this coming week.

The Florida Highway Patrol plans to crack down on aggressive driving on Monday through Wednesday, when troopers around the state will be on the lookout for speeders, weavers and sign-runners.

Out of nearly 19,000 traffic citations issued by the Collier County Sheriff's Office last year, 295 involved aggressive driving — down from 473 in 2009.

FHP issues about 40 percent of the traffic citations in Collier County. Troopers stopped 123 aggressive drivers from Jan. 1, 2011, through Jan. 31, 2012.

The agency, which focuses its patrols on highways, will have its personnel out in full force for the statewide campaign that starts Monday, said Lt. Gregory Bueno, a Fort Myers-based spokesman for FHP.

Monthly numbers provided by the Collier Sheriff's Office don't reflect an uptick of impassioned or reckless motorists during the winter months, when seasonal residents return. Summer yielded slightly more aggressive driving citations.

"South Florida traffic commits moving violations 12 months a year nowadays," Bueno said. "However, season does bring an influx of traffic to our area, which makes it all the more important for everyone to drive prudently."

In Florida, aggressive driving isn't an enforceable offense; instead, the driver would be cited for at least two of the following, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office: speeding, unsafely or improperly changing lanes, following another vehicle too closely, failing to yield the right-of-way, improperly passing, or violating traffic control and signal devices.

However on traffic tickets, an officer can mark the "aggressive driving" box for data collection purposes.

There were 36 traffic fatalities in Collier County in 2011, a drop from 42 the previous year.

The upcoming FHP campaign sets its sights not only on passenger cars, but on their burly commercial counterparts — semi-trucks.

"Safety on Florida's roadways is a cooperative effort by cars and trucks alike," said Mary Lou Rajchel, president and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association.

Aggressive driving accounts for 6 percent of truck crashes nationwide, a 2006 U.S. Department of Transportation report noted.

When cars and commercial trucks crash, nearly nine out of 10 times it's due to drivers' actions, rather than vehicle defects, according to FHP.

Along with the troopers on alert to frenzied maneuvers on the road, FHP is also using billboards and radio messages, as well as events at schools and community centers, to help get the message out about aggressive driving.