On N.C. Highways, SUVs May Really Be the SHP

Tailgating, speeding, cutting off other drivers -- the Highway Patrol calls it aggressive driving.

The patrol is targeting aggressive drivers with an approach many violators would call surprising.

It could be just another Chevy Tahoe rolling down Durham's section of I-40. But look closer, and you might see a State Highway Patrol officer behind the wheel.

The patrol is using unmarked, spotter vehicles to catch aggressive drivers.

The first catch is a driver accused of speeding and tailgating near I-40 and Highway 15/501.

But catching people for aggressive driving is not a difficult task. After only 10 minutes in the unmarked SUV, there was a second aggressive driving pull-over. In the second instance, the driver was accused of driving 85 in a 65 mile-per-hour zone.

A short distance from the traffic stop was an accident. Troopers say an aggressive driver was following too closely and rear ended another car.

Next, a textbook example of how the whole thing works.

The unsuspecting drivers of a red car and a blue truck speed past the spotter SUV.

An unmarked cruiser jumps into the action.

They decide which officer will stop which vehicle. "Let Gallio get the truck, he got a clock on it," one officer says, "and you get the red vehicle."

Then the marked unit falls in behind.

When it is all over, a rare double pull-over.

Two drivers cited for aggressive driving violations.