Kelvin Johnson, a traveling salesman, often notices drivers trying to see what they can get away with.

"They fly. They're right on your tail," Johnson said, because motorists traveling interstate highways split by median barriers know that a Highway Patrol trooper coming at them from the opposite direction can't turn around to give chase.

But while the barriers will still prevent troopers from making those U-turns, they will have more weapons at the ready to combat the speeding problem.

From now until Sept. 30, a special team of state Highway Patrol officers will be unleashing new radars and lasers to detect speeders coming up from behind them as well as in front of them.

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The equipment is courtesy of $127,250 awarded to the Department of Public Safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The money has allowed 73 officers statewide to be equipped with the dual antenna radars, laser imaging detection and ranging devices as part of the new median enforcement team.

The team will focus on the state's 13 counties where median barriers are installed.

Sid Gaulden, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said that along a number of areas with median barriers, for whatever reasons, some drivers decide that they feel safer speeding.

While the number of crossover collisions have decreased, there's been an increase in the total collisions on the interstate along those median barriers that are being targeted, said Sgt. R. Kelley Hughes of the state Highway Patrol.

The dual-antenna radars will be able to cut down on the speeding violations and at the same time reduce fatal crashes.

Johnson said he's encouraged to hear that there will be special enforcement out on the interstates.

"I'm not a saint. I speed once in a while. But especially when there's high traffic, I think the people who are speeding are more likely to cause accidents because they're swerving in and out of traffic.

"That's pretty irritating," he said.

The state has 442 miles of interstate with cable wire or concrete median barriers. In the Upstate, those barriers help separate opposing traffic along I-85 in Anderson, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties; I-385 in Greenville and Laurens counties; and I-26 in Spartanburg County.

Dick Jenkins, safety and systems engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said I-26 has 42.8 miles of median barriers in Spartanburg County; I-85 has 25.25 miles of barriers and I-385 in Greenville has 11.98 miles.

The movement for median barriers in South Carolina followed a crossover accident in July 2000 on I-26 that killed eight people.

The state began installing median barriers in 2001.

From January 2001 through December 2004, there were 5,487 interstate median barrier collisions, according to Gaulden. Driving too fast for conditions was the probable cause of about 53 percent of those collisions, he said.

Phill Jolley, who commutes to Greenville from Spartanburg County on I-26 and I-85, said he has noticed that traffic is faster along those routes. He often gets passed multiple times by motorists traveling easily 80 to 90 miles an hour.

"You cut out the Highway Patrol's and the policeman's ability to cross over. Certainly people are figuring that out," he said.

Meredith Olivier, who finds using I-385 the best route to Greenville from her Pelham Road home, attributes recent improvements to that highway for the higher speeds.

The highway is wider, motorists can switch lanes a little easier and the road isn't as rough to drive on, she said.

Olivier, a Greenville business owner, said it does make her feel safer to see extra enforcement on the interstates, particularly when she's not in a hurry.

"I know there's a need for it, but when I'm in a rush, I'm not very happy to see them," she said. "Sometimes I get a little frustrated to see people run the traffic lights more than I do to see them speeding on the freeway. Speeding on the side streets is less acceptable, but I guess in trying to follow the law you can't make allowances."

Jenkins said the DOT has no immediate plans to install any more median barriers.