The aggressive driving enforcement effort in Butler in recent days is built upon a federal grant the city and a handful of other county municipalities received for the initiative.

But it is to be hoped that the focus on aggressive driving, which under the grant is keyed to certain times of the year, will continue at other times, even if on a limited scale.

The message in Butler and in other county municipalities must be that aggressive, dangerous driving practices will not be tolerated.

In the city, the North Main Street hill and West Jefferson Street — two of the primary enforcement sites over the past week — are without question two locations where aggressive driving is common.

On North Main, it includes vehicles both climbing and descending the hill. On West Jefferson, while some of the problem stems simply from a penchant by some motorists to drive aggressively, other aggressive driving stems from some motorists' frustration over the maddening traffic signal synchronization that marks the stretch of road between McKean Street and Chestnut Street.

In that short section of road, motorists oftentimes are required to sit through two or three red lights.

While traffic is allowed to move smoothly in many larger metropolitan areas, in this city the emphasis appears to be on impeding smooth traffic flow. And with that reality in place, some drivers opt to speed in order to try to avoid having to stop so often.

Properly synchronized lights, coupled with police visibility, would be no more dangerous than having vehicles stop so many times within such a short distance, to keep traffic moving at a safe pace.

The city and state Department of Transportation should work together to rectify the traffic light situation, which also wastes gasoline.

Meanwhile, the stepped-up aggressive driving enforcement witnessed in recent days should be welcomed by all right-thinking people who want the streets and roads of Butler and other municipalities in the county to be safer.

This is a good time for such an initiative because children are out of school for the summer, but it is appropriate all year.

Butler and other municipalities conducting aggressive driving initiatives need not try to acquire the reputation of speed traps, where tickets are issued for petty speed violations. But police must not tolerate those whose aggressive driving puts other motorists and pedestrians in danger.

Aggressive driving is defined as a combination of unsafe and unlawful driving actions that demonstrate a conscious and willful disregard for safety.

Aggressive driving includes driving too fast, over the posted speed limit; rolling through red lights and stop signs; weaving in and out of traffic or making unsafe lane changes; and tailgating other vehicles.

People interested in obtaining information about the aggressive driving initiative, which is part of the Smooth Operator Program that began in 1997 in the Washington, D.C., area, can do so on the Web site smoothoperatorprogram.com.

Meanwhile, officials of Butler and other municipalities participating in the effort, along with their police chiefs, should make a commitment to keep the spirit of the initiative in place throughout the year.

How many lives that commitment will save can't be known — likewise, how many traffic-accident injuries will be prevented. But that nevertheless will be the positive effect of the program as more drivers rethink the temptation to drive without regard to their lives and others'.

Stepped-up ticketing of aggressive driving and more visible police presence will, over time, make the streets safer.