The highway patrol was respected, but the patrolmen stayed mainly on the interstates and the main highways, chasing speeders and drunk drivers and handling accidents.

Last June, Chief William J. Bratton ordered his officers to stop chasing drivers for traffic infractions or low-grade misdemeanors.

Some workers have been injured in recent months and the response has been "Operation Big Orange," involving additional state troopers monitoring construction sites and chasing speeders and reckless drivers.

So one of the most difficult questions now is whether it is wise to chase drivers out of the business after two or three tickets and replace them with inexperienced drivers who may be no better.

Between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida Highway Patrol cars chase drivers who, out of frustration, pull illegally into the high occupancy vehicle lane of I-95 because it seems to be the only lane that moves at all.

There are knee-knocking accounts of white Jeep Cherokees chasing stray drivers down a nearby dirt road and suggestions of men in dark suits who know how to discourage inquiries.

A longtime runner and friend of mine often chases drivers who throw garbage from their cars.

The police deal with high-speed car chases, car crashes, out-of-control drunk drivers and defiant hooligans.

Law enforcement officials say that the cameras have reduced accidents and the time police officers spend chasing reckless drivers and doing paperwork.

Ghost truck: There are accounts of phantom vehicles: pickup trucks that supposedly appear from nowhere in the middle of the night and chase drivers to the end of the road, then disappear.