Sheriff's Office Recognized for Campaign Targeting Aggressive Driving

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and five members of the agency were recognized at a recent awards luncheon held by the Smooth Operator Campaign.

The agency, headed by Sheriff Steve Simpson, along with SD Mike Cenate, DFC Barry Dufek and Deputy Ron Beach were recognized for their efforts in going above and beyond their traffic enforcement duties. Lt. Rudy Landon and Traffic Analyst Michael Thompson were recognized for implementing the traffic safety program targeting aggressive driving in Loudoun County.

Smooth Operator, introduced in 1997 with 18 law enforcement agencies now involves more than 500 agencies from the District, Maryland and Virginia who cooperate in intensive, one-week aggressive driving enforcement "waves" - one each month from May through August. These special enforcement waves are in addition to the agencies everyday traffic safety efforts.

“Aggressive enforcement is the best way to crack down on aggressive drivers,” said Simpson. Since Smooth Operator began in 1997, more than 2.8 million citations for aggressive driving have been issued by area law enforcement agencies during the special enforcement waves.

The Smooth Operator Program is a public safety initiative, which aims to provide education, information and solutions for the problem of aggressive driving. For nearly ten years, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have partnered through the Smooth Operator Program to combat aggressive driving. Law enforcement agencies, trauma experts, government officials and other professionals have worked together to educate motorists of the risks involved with aggressive driving, and to stigmatize aggressive driving behavior on our roads.

For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic via your favorite RSS reader, or get Loudoun County Traffic by e-mail.