The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has won five awards for cracking down on aggressive drivers, including an award for Sheriff Steve Simpson.
“Aggressive enforcement is the best way to crack down on aggressive driving,” Simpson said after he and Deputies Mike Cenate, Barry Dufek and Ron Beach won awards for going above and beyond their traffic enforcement duties. Lt. Rudy Landon and traffic analyst Michael Thompson were also awarded for implementing the county’s safe driving program.
The awards were presented by the Washington-area’s Smooth Operator Campaign. Introduced in 1997, Smooth Operator has brought together law enforcement agencies in the District, Maryland and Virginia that cooperate on intensive, weeklong aggressive driving crackdowns throughout the summer.
Since the program began, law enforcement officers have issued more than 2.8 million citations for aggressive driving during the summertime crackdowns, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
The Smooth Operator program is also paired with education programs designed to inform drivers of the risks involved with aggressive driving and to stigmatize fast driving, quick lane changes and tailgating, the campaign’s Web site said. The education programs target men ages 18 to 34 who are statistically the most likely to be involved in a crash resulting from dangerous driving techniques.
The crackdowns are conducted during the summer when aggressive driving tends to increase, as do injuries and fatalities from speeding, the Web site said.
Aggressive driving, officials said, can often be traced to what’s commonly referred to as “road rage,” which occurs when drivers react to frustrations with traffic, being rushed or stressed from other parts of their lives while on the road. It’s important, officials say, to recognize that anger and try to remain polite and calm when dealing with other drivers and adverse road conditions.
