HOUSTON -- The Houston Police Department launched a new creative campaign to crack down on dangerous and aggressive drivers, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

The plan calls for putting plainclothes officers in different locations around the city to spot drivers who are speeding, not wearing seat belts, or changing lanes erratically.

In one tactic, senior Houston Police Officer William Dodson will dress in street clothes and stand at a street corner with a sign in his hand.

Some people could mistake him for a vagrant, but on closer inspection, they will see that the sign is reminding people to wear their seat belts.

Dodson will radio ahead to an officer in a marked HPD unit who will make the stop and issue a citation.

"You can see the drivers start to pull on their seat belts," said Dodson.

"This is about safety on our freeways," said HPD Capt. Carl Driskell with the Traffic Enforcement Division.

So far this year, HPD has recorded 179 traffic fatalities.

Most of those automobile crashes were alcohol related, and about one-quarter of the people killed were not wearing seat belts.

HPD said it plans to begin its new initiative this week.