Editor's note: Press reporter Keith Cousins recently shadowed ISP Trooper Tom Keys on Keys' shift.

RATHDRUM - Idaho State Police Trooper Tom Keys makes a quick U-turn on Boekel Road in Rathdrum and pulls to the side, facing what he calls a "high traffic" area of Highway 41.

The driver's side window slowly rolls down, cold air rushes into the warm vehicle, and he rests his Pro Laser III Infrared Lidar System on the small portion of the window that remains exposed.

Scanning the area, he quickly finds the red dot in the viewfinder of the lidar and lines it up with the license plate of a passing car.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Red numbers on the gun indicate the driver is within 8 mph of the speed limit. He sets his sights on more passing motorists.

"So far everybody is being good," Keys says. "Which is a good thing."

Keys says he only pulls people over for speeding if they are "9 (or more) over" the limit. He likes patrolling "the outskirts" of Kootenai County when he isn't on the highways looking for impaired drivers. He likes patrolling areas such as Highway 41, where there are different drivers every day and it isn't a matter of just working an area one day and educating the drivers who always use the road.

Within minutes he spots a Mazda truck with expired plates. Keys turns his lights on and in seconds has the driver pulled over to the side of the road.

Joining the Idaho State Police fulfilled a dream Keys had since he was 14.

"I grew up in a really rural part of Oregon, way out in the middle of nowhere," Keys says. "Everyone knew each other and I knew the state trooper in the area very well. There was nothing about him I didn't like."

In Oregon, state troopers are also game wardens and Keys said he liked the idea of being able to get out into the forest to "check things out" being a part of his job.

Keys had planned on joining the Oregon State Police after completing his Army service. However, he changed his plans due to OSP cutting a number of jobs at the same time his enlistment ended.

"I didn't want to get into a career just to immediately get laid off," Keys says. "So I chose ISP because I have a lot of family here as well."

"And that's a routine traffic stop," Keys says as he gets back into the driver's seat of his patrol car.

The driver of the Mazda was cited for driving without registration or proof of insurance. Keys says he typically gives drivers a 30-day cushion when it comes to renewing registration but there's "no excuse" for it to be any later.

Not being able to provide proof of insurance is Keys' "biggest pet peeve" because uninsured drivers cost taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

"Especially when you see the iPhone 5, cigarettes and fast food wrappers in their car," Keys says. "Then they say they can't afford insurance. If you don't have insurance, please don't drive."

Driving without insurance is one of two key no-nos for Keys.

The other is drunk drivers.

"You have $75 to spend at the bar but don't have $25 for a cab home?" Keys asks rhetorically.

On most weekend shifts, Keys and his fellow ISP troopers are patrolling the highways for impaired drivers.

"From 11:30 to 3 a.m. it's like shooting fish in a barrel," Keys says. "I like getting them off the road."

In an average year he will pull over more than 100 intoxicated drivers, which equals about four per shift. Keys says he likes patrolling for intoxicated drivers for "selfish reasons" as well.

"It's one of the most unique experiences in law enforcement," he says. "You might have a funny drunk that is making jokes or you might have someone who is angry and dying to put you in a choke hold. No drunk is the same."

On one particularly memorable occasion, Keys pulled over a drunk driver who told him he moved here from Maine because the government was pumping chemicals through the public transportation music system.

"So he really did need a tin-foil hat," Keys says.

Keys returns to his spot on Boekel Road after citing the driver of the Mazda and repeats the process. In less than 15 minutes, the lights are back on and he pulls over a semi-truck with Oregon plates.

The semi was going 8 mph over the speed limit and while Keys doesn't normally pull motorists over at that speed, he treats truckers differently.

"They are professional drivers," he says. "When you're driving a 60-70,000 pound machine, 8 mph makes a lot of difference in the event of a crash. A crash like that, for lack of a better word, is a 'good' crash."

Keys exits his patrol car and approaches the right side of the semi truck. After receiving the driver's information, he tells him to "stay warm" while he returns to his car to run information on the laptop ISP recently installed in all of its vehicles.

Everything comes back clean and Keys prints out a speeding citation. Minutes later the semi is back on the road and Keys is back on Boekel Road.

With the lidar resting on the window, the only sound is the beeping of a reading being made as Keys continues to patrol for the remainder of his shift.