Drivers feel heat of crackdown on road aggression

The black Chevy Lumina zooms north along Interstate 405, switching lanes, tailgating, illegally cruising the car-pool lane with only a driver and his pit bull inside.

The driver whizzes by at 90 mph as state Trooper Brian Hoshino clicks on the radar and begins a familiar dance in his unmarked patrol car — switching lanes in tandem, stepping on the gas, easing off the pedal to keep pace, lights flashing.

Within seconds both cars are parked on the left shoulder. The driver, 18, is bawling, grabbing at his reddish hair. Hoshino soon finds out why: There's a warrant out for his arrest, from the last time he was caught driving recklessly and failed to appear in court.

It all happens along a stretch of I-405 north of Bellevue that drivers have called an aggressive-driving hot spot in scores of e-mails to the Washington State Patrol since December.

That's when the agency began urging drivers to send in license-plate numbers, exit-ramp numbers, car descriptions and anything to identify places where its Aggressive Driving Apprehension Team (ADAT) could snare dangerous drivers most effectively.

The combination of more troopers on the lookout and the extra eyes of drivers has increased the number of arrests and citations almost 400 percent over the past three years, according to State Patrol statistics.

Between February 1999 and January 2002, troopers pulled over 27,173 drivers and tallied 32,144 citations or arrests. Between February 2002 and January 2005, the number of stops jumped to 126,898 and citations and arrests soared to 153,069.

State Patrol Capt. Mike DePalma, head of the agency's field operations bureau, said it's not clear whether there are more aggressive drivers out there or if the huge jump in stops and citations is more a reflection of stepped-up enforcement. From just two patrol cars in 1998, ADAT has grown to a fleet of 45-plus unmarked vehicles roving around the state.

Either way, 911 calls from drivers and e-mails to the state's site — an outreach program he says is among the first of its kind in the country — are helping steer troopers to the right places, DePalma said.

Through driver responses, several hot spots have been identified throughout the Puget Sound area, including: Interstate 5 along Federal Way and from south Seattle to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center; I-405 from Newcastle to Kirkland, and pretty much all of Highway 167 in King County.

Hoshino said that jibes with what he sees on the road each day in his unmarked car.

His windows are tinted, making it easy to peer into passing cars to check for seat-belt use. He's got radar in the front (some cars also have it set up to clock people racing up behind them), along with equipment to audiotape and videotape his interactions, in case the state needs evidence in court.

Aggressive drivers seem to elude classification, Hoshino said.

He pulls over men, women and children from 16 to their 60s. He pulls over errant drivers on dark winter mornings, in summer's broad daylight and in the wee hours of crisp autumn days. He pulls over Porsches, pick-ups, Maximas, jalopies and minivans.

"Cars you wouldn't think would be flying down the freeway," he said.

He's also heard the gamut of responses, from accusations to apologies to folks lashing out in drug-induced rages. "As our cities are getting more and more populated, I think people are getting more impatient," Hoshino said. "It's a conscious decision to speed, to tailgate, to flash high beams."

Once he pulled over a 16-year-old girl. "You're doing 105," Hoshino said.

"No I'm not, I'm doing 100," she replied.

Safety concerns sometimes keep him from pursuing a car, like the time a pickup hit 100 mph in pouring rain, escaping.

"I didn't want to crash," he said.

He clocked one motorcycle at 150 mph.

"My greatest ally in this is my mirror," Hoshino said. In the mornings, he can watch pairs of headlights fly up from behind. During daylight, it's not hard to notice a driver weaving through traffic, he said.

On this bright day, he pulls over a gold Infiniti whose driver is doing 85 eastbound along the I-90 bridge. Soon after, he pulls over a rust-colored Wagoneer along I-90 near Issaquah — the driver was going 85 in the carpool lane. After chats with the drivers of an electric-blue WRX and a black Maxima, he notices the Lumina in his rear-view mirror.

About an hour later, he's leading the young man into the King County Jail. Aggressive driving has many costs. In this case, there's the negligent-driving citation, which will top $500. There's the $500 bail, getting the impounded car back (more than $100), getting his dog back from animal control, and court fees. And, of course, a likely increase in his car-insurance rate.

It also can quickly spiral out of control, risking the offender's life and the lives of others.

For example, Wednesday's six-vehicle pileup, in which a man in a pickup is accused of bumping his ex-girlfriend's truck into oncoming traffic as both traveled along Aurora Avenue North.

Several State Patrol districts send a letter to drivers whose license plates are reported via e-mail or by phone, DePalma said, to educate them about the dangers of aggressive driving and to let them know they may have been driving in a way that caused others concern.

The State Patrol wants to make aggressive driving socially unacceptable, like driving drunk. But such changes take time, DePalma said.

"If you're riding with someone who's driving like that, you might want to say, 'Hey, take it easy, give them some room,' " he said.

Karen Gaudette: 206-515-5618 or kgaudette@seattletimes.com