Drove across area, getting caught (5)
I believe the answer is:
heard
'caught' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'drove across area' is the wordplay.
'drove' becomes 'herd' (I've seen this before).
'across' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'herd' placed around 'a' is 'HEARD'.
'getting' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for heard that I've seen before include "Detected aurally" , "Examined" , "Perceived sound" , "Was told of" , "Gave ear to" .)