February 21, 2008

Two cars once illegal street racers are now part of the fleet CMPD's Highway Interdiction and Traffic Safety (HITS) Unit is using to target aggressive drivers.

The cars -- a Nissan 300Z and a Mustang Cobra -- were among the more than 20 vehicles confiscated as part of a crackdown on illegal street racing in 2006. The irony isn't lost on us. Few things are more painful for a street racer than having their vehicle turned into a police car. 

It took a lot of work to get the cars street worthy (legal) and then more work to upfit them with all of the necessary police equipment -- including computers, lights and sirens. Now they are ready to help police target the aggressive drivers whose speeding, road rage, close following and abrupt lane changes pose a hazard on our roadways.

"We put more lights on the car than normal to make sure people know when one of these cars is pulling them

over, it's a CMPD officer," says HITS Captain Andy Kornberg. "There will be no mistaking this car for a 'bluelight bandit' and the officer writing the ticket will be in uniform."

In 2007, CMPD officers responded to more than 30,600 traffic collisions. Nearly 7,000 of them resulted in personal injury to occupants of one or more of the vehicles involved.  Aggressive driving behaviors account for the majority of the crashes.

Driving responsibly is the best way to avoid a crash -- and a ticket.