Police will surprise speeders

LARGO -- Like a teacher whose syllabus calls for a series of pop quizzes, the Largo Police Department says it is planning several "high intensity" traffic enforcement details during the next couple of months.

But unlike past blitzes, the department won't be announcing where and when.

"Over the next couple months, we'd like to keep people guessing," said Lt. Glen Smith, who commands the traffic section.

In keeping with police Chief Lester Aradi's kinder-and-gentler traffic enforcement policy -- which calls for more warnings and fewer tickets -- the department had released publicly the location and times of intensive traffic details. That information usually ended up in the newspaper.

The hope was that drivers would read the announcements and modify their bad driving without the need for police to issue a ticket or warning.

It also left no room for excuses, Smith said.

On the flip side, some people simply avoided the enforcement areas, Smith said, or they would speed before and after the appointed location.

And most seemed to miss the memo, anyway, he said.

"We still had a significant number of violators even after we announced the locations," Smith said.

On Dec. 22, for example, the department issued 95 citations for traffic infractions in the area of 113th Street and Ulmerton Road. Officers issued another 49 citations a week or so later in the same place. Most citations were for speeding, even though only drivers going more than 15 mph over the limit were pulled over.

Now as the department gears up for the Memorial Day weekend, it's trying something new, said Brandon Graham, a spokesman for the Police Department.

"We're trying it this way this time," Graham said.

Police hope the mystery leads to more cautious driving.

"The hope is that people will drive like they should, no matter where they are," Smith said. "We want to keep people on their toes as much as possible."

The enforcement details will be held in May and into June. They will focus on drivers who speed and run red lights, the two biggest causes of accidents, he said.

Can't they provide any other hints?

Okay, Smith says. They will concentrate on the Top 10 accident intersections in Largo. Of course, he said, there are probably only 10 major intersections in the city.

"They'll have to guess which one we're at," he said.

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