TX - Austin has new tools to target aggressive drivers

**Aggie** · 06-27-2009, 10:00 AM

Houston has undercover cars, Austin is using Metro busses. When will big brother ever stop? I guess it's time to buy a scanner, Erik or Stalker do you know which system works best in the Austin area?

Police target aggressive drivers | News for Austin, Texas | KVUE.com | KVUE News Team

Some of the comments are hillarious!!!

**Stealth Stalker** · 06-27-2009, 04:13 PM

Total waste of money. The cheapest scanner that will pick up ANYTHING in Austin is $500 dollars, and you still won't get any useful info from it.

**speed-dreams** · 06-27-2009, 05:13 PM

Agree with SS... you better use that money to buy 2 extra LI heads for your rear.... you have better chances getting Fritter to shoot you from the rear

**Lucky225** · 06-27-2009, 05:59 PM

Or just not pull over for something that's obviously not a police car

"I thought the bus was having issues or something"

**lugnuts** · 06-27-2009, 06:03 PM

Boy am I glad my tax dollars are being put to good use, when are the police going to start ticketing bus driver that cut you off after either droping off or picking up people at bus stops, once they have done their duty and take off into traffic again they (bus driver )will cut you off like they are king of the road, and some cops not all cops do the same thing.

Please don't forget the idiots that cause the aggressiveness in the 1st place. The one's babbling on the phone doing 50 in a 65, the slumped over to the side that can't see over the dash (because they're too cool) poking along real smooooth. The moron pulling a trailer that can't get up to speed in the wrong lane......etc.... The chick turning around yelling at the kids veering from side to side taking 2 lanes instead of pulling over. Half the time the aggressive driver is just trying to get away from the idiots.

these two are great. both are so true for any city in the US.

**erickonphoenix** · 06-27-2009, 06:38 PM

This is a Rolling SpeedTrap. The vehicles are different but the principle is exactly the same. Use an undercover car to spot violators then radio the vehicle description to chase cars waiting up ahead. Because they are using police radios to communicate details like vehicle make/model violations and locations of violations then a police scanner will work for this.

You need a digital scanner, a list of the TAC channels they use or just leave the scanner running in scanning mode. Listen for specific terms like
"White Toyota no signal from the number 2 to number 3 lane, following too close and speeding 76 in a 60. We are now crossing (insert street name)"

You need to know your street names and freeways so you can recognize where their operating when you hear them but it can be learned in a short time. Before they switched to an alternate communications I could figure out where they were in about three or four broadcasts. BTW: Even though they switched another communication method they don't always use it. I still here them running RSTs at least once a week.

**swarga** · 06-28-2009, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by lugnuts

Boy am I glad my tax dollars are being put to good use, when are the police going to start ticketing bus driver that cut you off after either droping off or picking up people at bus stops, once they have done their duty and take off into traffic again they (bus driver )will cut you off like they are king of the road, and some cops not all cops do the same thing.

Please don't forget the idiots that cause the aggressiveness in the 1st place. The one's babbling on the phone doing 50 in a 65, the slumped over to the side that can't see over the dash (because they're too cool) poking along real smooooth. The moron pulling a trailer that can't get up to speed in the wrong lane......etc.... The chick turning around yelling at the kids veering from side to side taking 2 lanes instead of pulling over. Half the time the aggressive driver is just trying to get away from the idiots.

these two are great. both are so true for any city in the US.

BINGO - and you will never hear about a crackdown on passive-aggressive drivers, or incompetent drivers, or distracted drivers, or any of the true causes of "road rage" or "aggressive driving" (which, more often than not, is escape driving as some poor schmuck tries desperately to get out from behind the asshole that has been blocking the passing lane at PSL-10 for the last 10 miles.

Just once I'd like to see a LEO pull over an LLB (Left Lane Blocker) instead of the "speeder" who took advantage of a small window of opportunity and managed to escape.