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Region Mounts 'Get Tough' Campaign Against Aggressive Driving

26 April 2000

Region Mounts 'Get Tough' Campaign Against Aggressive Driving

    FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 25 It's the biggest problem
facing drivers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia today. This
summer, the three jurisdictions are going to get tough on aggressive drivers.
The region's motor vehicle, law enforcement, and highway safety agencies are
combining forces in an effort to make driving a safer and more pleasant
experience.
    Starting next week, "Smooth Operator 2000" ads will run on Washington area
radio stations, in newspapers, and on outdoor billboards and transit vehicles,
urging aggressive drivers to change their dangerous driving behavior. The $1.3
million advertising campaign will run from May through September.
    The ads target motorists who drive aggressively. This includes tailgating,
making improper lane changes, speeding, running red lights, stop signs, and
more! The campaign features a "mad dog" conveying the message that anyone can
be an aggressive driver, and urges every motorist to be a "Smooth Operator."
    Smooth Operator 2000 also includes waves of enforcement by twenty-five
participating law enforcement agencies starting the week of May 8-14, 2000.
These waves will be in addition to every day law enforcement efforts and will
be in effect over the summer months. A similar effort last year produced over
70,000 charges.
    To heighten awareness of the growing problem, "Taming Aggressive Driving,"
a symposium, is slated for May 16 at the University of Maryland's Conference
Center in College Park. Topics at the daylong event will focus on how the
region can address and change aggressive driving behavior.
    Symposium speakers include experts in trauma medicine, psychology, traffic
safety, highway design, and corporate health and safety. More than 2,000
invitations to the symposium have been sent, and attendance is expected to
reach several hundred.
   Maryland, Virginia and the District have been working on the campaign for
nearly 18 months. Funding for the Smooth Operator 2000 campaign is being
provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the Maryland Office of
Traffic and Safety, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, and the
District of Columbia Department of Public Works.
    Smooth Operator 2000 is also conducting research on driver attitudes and
behavior before and after the campaign to measure its effectiveness. The
results of the evaluation will be announced this fall.