TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- States across the United States report taking tougher actions against bad drivers such as super speeders, lane hogs and serial breakers of traffic laws.
Florida leads the get-tough effort, enacting a law that will send its worst drivers -- three crashes in three years -- back to driving school, USA Today reported Wednesday.
"These people have proven themselves to be chronically bad drivers. You have to try everything you can to change their behavior," Electra Theodorides-Bustle, executive director of the Florida Department of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said of the law that takes effect Jan. 1.
The costs are passed on to the violators, she said.
Florida's response comes as more evidence suggests aggressive driving is deadlier than drunken driving, USA Today reported. An AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study indicated aggressive driving factored into 56 percent of all fatal U.S. crashes from 2003 through 2007.
Taking tougher action for repeat offenders is a logical tactic for states, said Justin McNaull, AAA director of state relations.
"Car crashes aren't evenly distributed among all drivers," he said. "While this might not be a classic 80-percent-of-the-problem-is-20-percent-of- the-people situation, it's probably pretty close."
