Well, I’m in love.

Last week I had an opportunity to view the latest road weapon in the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office arsenal.

The object that made this cold, cynical heart go pitty pat was a 2006 Dodge Charger, but not your run-of-the-mill Dodge Charger. This lean, mean, stalking machine could be your worst nightmare – if you are an aggressive driver.

In a magnificent stroke of understatement, this super high-performance, unmarked car looks – well – normal, but throbbing inside that dark pearl gray body all kinds of police power technology awaits a push of the button: a video recording system, flashing lights, siren, radio, radar detection equipment, computer, and an emergency message system that scrolls warnings in red letters across the rear window. James Bond, eat your heart out.

Traveling alongside us on the road, the car looks like one of us, but when it’s chase time, when the car sheds its Clark Kent persona to reveal super Charger and the deputy activates the emergency lights, the car flashes its red and blue signal from lights concealed inside the tinted windshield, inside the fog lights, inside the grill work. Everywhere you look, this car has flashing lights, a moving light show. The transformation is amazing, like stepping from Kansas into the land of Oz. Lions and tigers and aggressive drivers, oh my! I love it!

This car is dubbed a shadow car, shadow being an acronym for Sheriff’s Aggressive Driving Offender Watch, and its high tech equipment (to the tune of $39,613) is funded by a Highway Safety Grant through the Florida Department of Transportation. The grant also will pay for a full-time deputy dedicated to the program. The total amount the sheriff’s office is receiving from FLDOT for the shadow program is $97,023.
Deputy Jay Galassi will head up the shadow car program, working closely with the motorcycle, agricultural, aviation, patrol, community policing and step units. The goal: stop aggressive driving.
I think “The Shadow” is an appropriate name for this weapon of rage detection, considering its invisible police identity until the deputy chooses to makes its presence known. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of drivers? The Shadow knows. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Let’s face it, aggressive driving is a problem that seems to be growing faster than a mud puddle on Bruce B. Downs during a thunderstorm. If your car’s odometer reads more than 30 miles, you’ve probably got a tale to tell about some aggressive driver.
Check out these driving offenses: speeding, running red lights and other signals, improper lane changing, tailgating, failure to yield the right-of-way, improper passing. A driver stopped for committing two or more of these offenses simultaneously or in succession is guilty of aggressive careless driving, a violation that comes with a price tag of $118.50 up to $308.50 plus 3 or 4 points per violation on the driver’s license and risk of losing driving privileges if 12 points are accumulated within a 12-month period.
“Aggressive driving has been a real problem for us and it continues to be a real problem,” said Pasco County sheriff Bob White. “The roads are narrow and heavily traveled. Aggressive driving causes probably more wrecks than anything else nationwide.”
The Shadow will be operating throughout Pasco County, but despite its amazing technology, it can’t be everywhere at once. So how do we, just average Joes trying to get from point A to point B, cope with these idiots, which, to be politically correct, I’ll call aggressive drivers?
“First and foremost, remain calm,” Galassi said. “Don’t make any abrupt driving actions. Try your best to safely get out of the way and let that driver continue on and get away from you.”
It was suggested that you pull off the roadway or have a passenger call 911 to report the incident, giving the location and vehicle description, including the license plate number. Areas are patrolled based on the number of crashes and violations reported in the areas.
What if, as happens too frequently, the incident escalates to road rage?
“Call 911 as soon as it is safe to do so,” Galassi said. “Drive to a well-populated area. Try to get away from the person and try to get law enforcement to you before something else happens.”
Driving to a law enforcement office was also suggested.
Readers, it’s the eleventh hour as far as safety is concerned. Do you know where your closest law enforcement office is? You might want to make a list of the ones closest to your frequently traveled routes and keep it in your glove box. Can’t hurt.
The sheriff’s crime prevention unit has public awareness programs available to civic groups and homeowners associations. For more information, call 1-800-854-2862, Ext. 3376.
Road closings
Northdale, Knoll Ridge at Headland Hills Avenue, 24-hour closure through July 31 for roadway work. Detour required.
Temple Terrace, Morris Bridge Road to north of Cross Creek Boulevard, daytime only closure through Aug. 31 for construction of a deceleration lane. No detour required.
Today’s bumper sticker
If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?