They talk fast. They walk fast. But often they can't drive fast, thanks to the city's famously snarled traffic. Since 1982, New York City has waged a battle that targets drivers who block intersections. This no-no is called "blocking the box." In 2000, the war continues.

With over one million cars circulating Manhattan's every day, New York's central borough is the main field of battle for combating gridlock. Negotiating rush hour in Manhattan, a cramped island laid out in a grid pattern, is as exasperating as getting trapped in an elevator with Kathie Lee Gifford. Drivers in Midtown long ago became accustomed to sitting in clogged traffic, which turned city streets into Darwinian struggles of taxis, trucks and cars vying for any hint of daylight.

As part of his quality-of-life offensive, in August Mayor Giuliani announced the "Don't Block the Box" campaign, which stepped up enforcement of laws against blocking intersections. Police began a blitzkrieg on box-blockers, hitting 6,522 drivers with tickets in just three days. Through October, that number jumped to 19,550. While the city has pulled back on targeted crackdowns, New York's traffic cops are still on the lookout for drivers blocking the box.

Lieutenant Dennis Cirillo, a spokesman for the New York Police Department, says that although the city has not kept separate records of blocking the box tickets, the city is winning. "The program is very successful," he says. "If you're in the box, you're getting a ticket. Period."