Web sites let drivers flag road ragers

[RedEarth]

Ever been cut off by a Hummer while chugging along the interstate? Tailgated by a Honda while motoring to the mall? Thoroughly ticked off by a Toyota as you cruise to the beach?

Now there's an alternative to steaming along on road rage. Law enforcement officers in Arizona and Washington state are asking the public to head to the Web and report reckless drivers online.


It's perhaps the newest strategy to deal with the problem of aggressive driving, joining more conventional methods such as education campaigns and crackdowns by police.


"It's just another tool to solicit the public's help in fighting aggressive driving," says Trooper Johnny Alexander, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol. "We only have so many troopers out there."


Motorists in Washington can go to the state patrol's Web site and click on a link to report areas where aggressive driving is consistently a problem. They can note what kind of recklessness they've witnessed, when and how often the incidents occur, and the offenders' license plate numbers. The site received 90 reports in the first week after it was created in October, Alexander says

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=5&u=/usatoday/20050118/pl_usatoday/websitesletdriversflagroadragers

[davidinalameda]

1. thank goodness it's in Washington state

I'm safe until I go visit my sister!

I don't want them snagging me

[sarcasmo]

2. You could just be mad at someone and report them.

This would never be upheld in court.

[leveymg]

4. Gives the Public Vigilante Practice & Probable Cause to Pull You Over

Hmm - What's that in plain sight? Let's run you through NCIC and see what comes up? Oh, seems you're on a privately maintained list of DHS security threats - please exit the vehicle, and put your hands on your head.

All those databases are being interlinked now. Do we really want to widen the funnel?

[KansDem]

7. Yeah! Would "road rage" allegations disqualify me from job hunting?

With more and more companies using urine tests and credit checks in hiring, would this be just another facet to be considered? "Sorry, you can't work here. There is a road rage allegation against you from three years ago..."

And what would this database do for apartment hunters? 'Fess up, do you really want to live next door to a "road rager?"

[Massacure]

18. No, but it tells where officers should be stationed.

Officers can be used in court.

[nickine9]

3. and what will the police do with these unsubstantiated allegations

road rage really gets on my t*ts but im not happy with this

[PROGRESSIVE1]

5. That's what I was thinking.

This is a stupid system.

[Mills Street]

6. This is not a bad idea

I would assume that no arrests could be generated merely from reporting them on a website (just idle threats to arrest).

This is a GREAT way for other drivers to displace their road rage and this provides them an alternative to taking it into their own hands.

[ixion]

12. don't assume anything

you know the old saying. ;-)

[Mills Street]

14. Your right, I shouldn't assume...

I was making the assumption that the states would still follow the constutional requirements of evidence and probable cause. But in this day and age, I have to remember to not take the constitution for granted.

[sakabatou]

8. I think every state should have this if they don't already

[Book Lover]

9. Another mechanism for liars

And if the road rage incident never happened, if the person who reported the incident is a liar, what is the accused's redress?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. Can you say Salem Witch Hunt?

I thought you could.

[ixion]

11. this is not a good idea, IMO

Encouraging moron drivers to report people who get mad at them because they don't know how to drive well is not going to do anyone any good.

Further, this system could be abused on so many levels that it just seems ludicrous to me to even create in the first place. Just another fine example of the shift towards living in a police state.

[Mills Street]

15. I think the point of the list is to report bad driving

Not the people who get mad at them. This way, you can vent about all those "moron" drivers without actually hitting them.

And reckless drivers "don't know how to drive," period.

[ixion]

17. does this count?

so should we report people who:

-- don't pay attention

-- aren't considerate of others around them?

-- talk on their cell phones while they drive slow in the fast lane?

Frankly, someone who is driving under the speed limit -- being overly cautious -- is worse than someone who is driving over the speed limit, but paying attention.

Most of the road rage I've witnessed has been related to this rule: "Slower traffic keep right".

That is by far the most ignored rule of the road, IMO, and the cause of much frustration. It means if someone is coming up behind you, move to the right hand lane. If more people followed that simple rule, much heartache would be saved by all parties.


In any case, I think it's not a good idea. ;-)

[Mills Street]

22. I believe they use the term "reckless."

That term is usually defined by state law, and generally means driving in a way that is dangerous.

P.S. speeding is anti-social. A speeder makes conditions considerably unsafer for those around him or her, all so he or she can selfishly get somewhere sooner.

[Famine]

13. A threat to free speech

I wonder how many people are going to be reported for "road rage" when their real offense is having the wrong bumper sticker on their vehicle?

[Rose Siding]

19. This is a good point

I knew there was a reason for that due process thingy.

There's tremendous potential for false reporting here.

[xxqqqzme]

16. how does this affect your auto insurance rates?

U know insurance co.s have access 2 this.

[Xithras]

20. This is not new at ALL.

Back in 1995 (wow, when did that become a decade ago?) a Santa Cruz computer programmer invented the idea with the Page Of Shame, which was briefly one of the most popular sites on the Internet. It started off as a blog of his daily commute over Highway 17 to the Silicon Valley and always included the "Jerque du Jour", but at the end grew into a list that allowed people to submit their own photos of bad drivers (complete with visible license plate) and their complaints about those drivers.

At the time, I commuted into the Silicon Valley daily myself, and used to be a regular submitter. I actually had a bumper sticker that said "Go ahead, cut me off, I'll make you famous", followed by the URL of the site. I made more than one person quite famous ;)

Interest in the site eventually died and people stopped submitting, but the idea seems to crop up now and then every few years. Each time we hear the same droning from the civil libertarians about how this spells the deathknell of our privacy on the roads and how it's going to inspire online vigilantism, and each time I've watched the sites peter out once the media moved on.

Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. So now, if you don't like somebody's bumper sticker

You can turn them in to the police?

The intent may be good; but I think it'll only lead to trouble. If you witness a whacko behind the wheel, pull over and call the police on your cell phone.