Aggressive driving enforcement : evaluation of two demonstration programs

Stuster, Jack, 1947- · 2004 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report evaluates two demonstration programs funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reduce aggressive driving in Marion County, Indiana, and Tucson, Arizona. Motivated by rising public concern over "road rage" and aggressive driving behaviors—such as speeding, tailgating, and unsafe lane changes—the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of combined special enforcement and public information and education (PI&E) campaigns. Each program received a $200,000 grant to implement targeted enforcement in specific zones and accompanying publicity efforts. The Marion County program, led by the Traffic Safety Partnership, utilized a "ROAD Team" of officers working overtime across multiple agencies, supported by extensive paid media campaigns. In contrast, the Tucson Police Department focused enforcement on a smaller, dedicated team and relied on an aggressive driving hotline and billboards for publicity. Both programs targeted moving violations associated with aggressive driving. The evaluation measured program effects using unobtrusive vehicle speed samples and crash incidence data, comparing the six-month program period to the same period the previous year. Results indicated that average vehicle speeds declined slightly in Marion County and more significantly in Tucson. However, crash outcomes differed markedly between the two sites. In Marion County, total crashes increased by 32%, with crashes involving aggressive driving primary collision factors (PCFs) rising by 41%. Consequently, the proportion of crashes attributed to aggressive driving increased by 6%. Conversely, while total crashes in Tucson increased by 10%, crashes with aggressive driving PCFs rose by less than 1%. Crucially, the proportion of crashes involving aggressive driving PCFs in Tucson decreased by 8%. The study concludes that while crashes caused by aggressive driving can be deterred through combined enforcement and PI&E, resource allocation significantly impacts effectiveness. The findings suggest that limited resources are better spent on officer labor rather than publicity. Furthermore, assigning enforcement duties to a small team working full-time appears more effective than distributing responsibilities among a larger number of officers as occasional overtime duty. The report implies that sustained, focused enforcement is a critical component for reducing aggressive driving incidents.

Key finding

The Tucson program successfully reduced the proportion of crashes involving aggressive driving by eight percent, whereas the Marion County program experienced a six percent increase in that proportion despite similar enforcement and publicity efforts.

Methodology

field_study

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• automated enforcement cameras
• aggressive driving
• incidence prevalence
• public messaging
• driver education effectiveness
• regulatory evaluation

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes