HEADLINE: FHP steps up efforts to cut fatalities
Operation Safe Ride aimed mostly at big trucks, but other violators were caught.
Orlando (Florida) Sentinel; Thursday, October 25, 2007
Byline: April Hunt, Sentinel Staff Writer
Peter C. Hooker's eyes were alert for big rigs Wednesday, part of a two-day effort targeting commercial truckers for unsafe driving across the state.
But the Florida Highway Patrol trooper's first ticket went to the driver of an SUV.
Hooker had just given a warning to the driver of a box truck that was going 10 miles over the speed limit on Interstate 4, when he spotted the dusty Ford Explorer.
The driver had swerved into the left lane of traffic, cutting off a Jaguar whose driver hit the brakes to avoid a crash.
"If they're cutting off cars, a truck isn't going to make a difference to them," Hooker said of drivers who cut in front of other motorists.
The trucks' size, weight and cargo often mean greater destruction in crashes, authorities said.
Commercial trucks were involved in just 8 percent of statewide crashes last year, but 13 percent of the fatal accidents.
Speeding and tailgating are among main causes of those accidents. They were also the main complaints from other motorists whose worries prompted the crackdown that ends tonight.
"These guys are working for a living, but the extra couple minutes they save [by] flying down the road and risking killing someone isn't worth it," said James Meade, who was among those who complained about speeding trucks.
Meade watches rigs zip on Young Pine Road daily, going back and forth to the Orange County landfill. The trucks don't have much impact on Materials Recycling, the mulch yard he runs next to his home, save for the occasional tread thrown from the tires.
But he worries about his daughter Jennifer, 12, and son James, 10, who have to wait at the street for the school bus every morning as the trucks race to the dump.
"With a big commercial truck, if it blows a tire, I'd be afraid of them losing control," Meade said. "It's not just my kids on this road."
On Tuesday, a trooper clocked a trucker at 105 mph -- more than twice the posted 50 mph speed limit -- as he passed another driver. The trucker was put in handcuffs, charged with reckless driving, Hooker said.
Wednesday afternoon, Hooker let the driver of an empty truck heading away from the landfill off with just a warning for going 10 miles over the speed limit. The driver, who declined to be interviewed, last had a speeding ticket 11 years ago, driving records showed.
The warnings send a message but also are recorded in case a driver doesn't get the point. Wednesday morning, Hooker cited a truck driver for speeding, unsafe load and other violations -- the same thing the driver got tickets for on Tuesday.
Earning a commercial driving license and hauling cargo for a living usually translates into truckers being better-than-average drivers, Miller said.
But when they are held to that higher standard, the few bad truckers stand out.
FHP To Crackdown On Truck Drivers Breaking Traffic Laws
WFTV-TV (Orlando, Florida); Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Video: http://www.wftv.com/news/14410686/detail.html
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A rash of truck crashes on Central Florida highways has sparked a new safety effort. Wednesday morning, troopers were stationed along I-4 looking for aggressive truck drivers.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers will be looking for truckers swerving in and out of traffic and driving too fast. FHP said that's what is behind some of the tractor trailer accidents causing major headaches for other drivers on the road and often resulting in deaths.
FHP said they would be out over the next two days targeting truck drivers.
"We want to find those people and stop them before a crash happens," said Kim Miller of the Florida Highway Patrol.
Skywitness captured an accident near Clermont a few weeks ago where a semi-truck and a dump truck were involved in an accident with a motorcycle. The driver of the motorcycle was killed. FHP reports that eight-percent of accidents along the highway involve large trucks.
They also said semis are involved in 13-percent of deadly accidents.
"We're getting a lot of complaints from the public and we're also seeing a lot of crashes from some of these drivers who are not following the rules," Miller added.
Troopers said the biggest problem is speeding and swerving in and out of traffic. But they said truck drivers also continue to follow other vehicles too closely. And if they don't end up crashing, they end up jack-knifing or rolling over and causing major backups on the highway.
Troopers will also be looking for tractor trailer drivers that don't follow signs that can be seen posted mostly in rural areas. Outside the city, trucks are not allowed to drive in the left lane.
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