Police Crack Down On Aggressive Driving

Speeding, texting and not paying attention while behind the wheel could cause serious damage on the road. Idaho State Police and local law enforcement are teaming up to track down what they call aggressive drivers.

It’s something many drivers do without thinking about. Texting in the car, not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, speeding to beat the traffic light. Things police officers call aggressive driving.

“When you’re not paying attention you tend to drive faster, you tend to not use signals when you switch lanes, you miss stop signs and yield signs,” said Dave Frei, an Idaho Falls Police Sergeant.

In fact, the State of Idaho is allocating extra overtime and pay for officers to crack down on aggressive drivers. The Idaho Falls Police Department is receiving $4,000 for the additional patrols and Bonneville County is receiving $3,000.

Officers say they’ve seen an increase in aggressive driving in the Idaho Falls area and attribute it to the increased number of vehicles on the road.

“People just need to realize that their behavior can really cause a lot of damage and pain to themselves and other people,” said Frei. “Getting there thirty seconds or a minute faster isn’t worth the risk of causing damage to yourself or somebody else.”

Officers say keeping a cool, level head and allotting yourself the time needed to get to wherever you’re going could help you avoid unnecessary accidents.

The statewide texting-while-driving ban goes into effect on July 1. If caught texting behind the wheel, that would result in an $85 fine and could be considered aggressive driving.

Statistics show that in 2010, the state spent close to $1.2 billion on speed-related crashes. The extra patrols will go on until April 30.