INSPECTIONS IN 5-STATE AREA UNCOVER MORE THAN 2,000 VIOLATIONS
A total of 1,290 commercial vehicle inspections resulted in 2,216 driver and equipment safety violations during a special one-day safety campaign encompassing a five-state area earlier this month. Officers from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky participated in the coordinated effort to reduce injuries and deaths attributed to traffic accidents on Sept. 12.
A total of 1,531 equipment violations were written by the participating agencies. Of that number, 111 were serious enough to place the vehicle out-of-service. A total of 685 driver violations were recorded, including 361 for speeding. Fifty-three drivers placed out-of-service for offenses ranging from Hours of Service violations and commercial driver license violations. Sixty-five hazardous materials violations were also written.
Michigan State Police (MSP) inspected 115 commercial motor vehicles and recorded 79 driver and equipment safety violations. In Michigan, the inspections encompassed an area along Interstate 75 from Sault Ste. Marie to the southern border.
“Working cooperatively with our partners from adjacent states allows us to more effectively address the traffic safety issues we have in common,” said Capt. Robert R. Powers, Jr., commander of the MSP Traffic Safety Division. “By leveraging our resources we can more efficiently ensure a safe environment for the motoring public.”
MSP motor carrier officers placed three vehicles and five drivers out-of-service for serious violations. Another 90 traffic citations were issued for a variety of violations including unsafe equipment, overweight vehicles, speeding and violating the state’s “move-over law.”
Indiana State Police troopers and motor carrier inspectors in the Evansville District concentrated on Interstate 64. Officers inspected 22 commercial motor vehicles and issued citations for 45 violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Inspectors also placed two unsafe drivers and three unsafe vehicles out of service.
“By conducting these statewide enforcement projects, Indiana State Police hope to reduce the number of highway crashes caused by mechanical defects on commercial vehicles and driver errors due to fatigue and other human factors,” said Maj. Tom Melville, Commander of the ISP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.
Similar projects are now scheduled on a monthly basis throughout the Evansville District, which covers Knox, Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties. In Ohio, officers issued 776 citations and 599 warnings. Thirty of the citations were handed out to drivers who violated Ohio’s “move-over/slow-down” law.
Special attention was also paid to offenses such as speeding, careless driving, equipment violations, driver qualifications, HOS, hazardous material transportation and oversized/overweight vehicles. “Recent fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles underscore the need for a continued focus on traffic enforcement efforts, especially in the heavily traveled commercial vehicle corridors,”
Col. Richard H. Collins, OSHP superintendent, said. “Ohio State Highway Patrol commercial vehicle enforcement officers will continue closely working with their colleagues from Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan to reduce the number of fatalities and crashes occurring due to driver error and unsafe vehicles.”
Results from Illinois and Kentucky were not readily available.