MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison beltline remains one of the most problematic stretches of road for speeding and aggressive driving.

However, News 3 has learned there has been a significant drop in traffic tickets written by Madison police, prompting some to see a de-emphasis of speeding enforcement in Madison.

The head of the Traffic Enforcement Safety Team says watching out for speeders and aggressive drivers remains a high priority, despite what the numbers show.

"That's very clear and safe to say that we are definitely not de-emphasizing speeding enforcement," said police Capt. Bill Housley. "Speeding enforcement is a very high emphasis in our department."

Officers write an average of 100 tickets a month to beltline drivers, but a News 3 comparison of first-quarter citation numbers for the last two years shows that overall, fewer speeding tickets are being written.

Since 2003, first-quarter tickets for all hazardous driving violations have dropped by almost 1,000, and speeding tickets make up the majority -- down 941 compared to the first quarter of 2003.

Housley told News 3 he's at a loss to explain why speeding tickets have dropped so much. He points out the figures represent tickets written in all five Madison police districts -- not just by traffic enforcement safety team officers.

Aggressive Enforcement Today For Aggressive Drivers

The State Patrol is assigning over a dozen troopers to an area between Middleton and the Interstate.

Troopers will keep an eye out for speeders, aggressive drivers, drivers yacking on their cell phones and those not wearing their seatbelts.

"All police agencies are concerned about traffic on the beltline," said Sgt. Dennis Kruger. "We have crashes everyday out here. With the recent fatality crashes, we have to get the awareness up -- you don't have room for error on the beltline."

The beltline has been the scene of two recent horrific crashes that involved big trucks rear-ending cars. There have been several deaths as a result.

The concentrated police patrols will continue indefinitely. Troopers will patrol in marked cars as well as unmarked vehicles, including trucks.

As of 4 p.m., officials said they pulled over hundreds of drivers Wednesday. Only a fraction of them received actual tickets, but officials say the sting was still a success -- and are planning another.

News 3's Linda Eggert has more details tonight on News 3.

TALKBACK: Beltline Driving: Out Of Control?