Via Shutterstock.com

Via Shutterstock.com

Police in two Maryland counties are trying out a new message when it comes to dealing with particularly aggressive motorists: Chill the hell out.

The Montgomery and Prince George’s police departments are employing a program called “Smooth Operator” that they hope will reduce the number of traffic incidents caused by overeager and ticked-off drivers, WTOP reports. Authorities in both counties say that aggressive driving isn’t just bad—it’s deadly, with an average of three people a day dying because of aggressive driving incidents.

Smooth Operator, which was first launched in 1997, is a program that police departments in the District and three states occasionally activate to conduct enhanced crackdowns on unsafe driving. When the program is in effect, police look for several specific traits often exhibited by the testiest drivers, including speeding, tailgating, running red lights and stop signs, weaving between lanes and passing other cars improperly.

But the agencies behind Smooth Operator have some advice on how not to join the ranks of cheesed-off drivers:

  • Allow more travel time to get to your destination. It reduces stress dramatically.
  • Come to a full stop at red lights and stop signs. Never run yellow lights.
  • Let other drivers merge with you.
  • Obey posted speed limits.
  • Don’t follow other drivers too closely.
  • Resist temptation to teach someone “a lesson.”
  • Concentrate on driving—not on the stereo, cell phone, passengers or other distractions.
  • Remember that you can’t control traffic—but you can control yourself, your driving, and your emotions.

So, be friendly and welcoming? Sounds like a pretty simple recommendation easy to take to heart.

Unfortunately for police in the D.C. area, when it comes to stamping out aggressive driving, they have their work cut out for them. The region’s motorists were rated as some of the nation’s most courteous in a nationwide survey last December, with one exception—drivers here like to Hulk out. The same survey also reported that Washington-area drivers lead the United States in indulging that forewarned temptation to teach someone “a lesson,” with four percent of respondents admitting to intentionally ramming another vehicle after perceiving to be slighted while navigating the roadways.