CHARLOTTE, NC – The North Carolina Highway Patrol is cracking down on big rig violators following the fatal semi truck crash on Interstate 77 in Fort Mill, SC on Monday, August 16, 2010. Crashes like this are what law enforcement officers want to keep from happening on our Interstates.
In that semi truck accident, a fuel truck and a passenger car collided in a deadly crash at mile maker 87 near exit 88. The fatal crash spawned a fireball that could be seen for miles.
Although investigators haven’t determined who was at fault in this recent crash, they are trying to crack down on unsafe big rig driving. When a trucker is driving a large 18-wheeler down the freeway at freeway speeds, carrying just about anything you can think of, it can be very dangerous no matter how safe of a driver he or she is.
The new crack down is called Operation Road Watch and it is part of a campaign along Interstate 77 in Mecklenburg County. Troopers are hoping to cut down on accidents involving 18-wheelers along the north-south corridor of Interstate 77.
The state Highway Patrol hopes that with the actions they take in Operation Road Watch, it might make driving on the Interstate just a little bit safer.
To put it simply, the purpose of Operation Road Watch is to avoid accidents like the fiery crash on August 16 where a big rig and a car collided and the truck driver was killed.
The goal of the program is to try to reduce collisions involving semi trucks and smaller passenger vehicles. Accidents where one gets entangled with the other can be very tragic. Troopers will be stepping up enforcement by not only eyeballing unsafe trucks, but by conducting random safety checks.
Chances are that motorists will be seeing a lot of trucks pulled off on the side of the road.
Also, this time is the beginning of school, so motorists will be seeing a lot of school buses out there so there will be a lot of distractions for drivers.
The Highway Patrol will be targeting aggressive driving, unsecured loads and HazMat issues (involving hazardous materials).
State troopers expect that drivers will be facing more obstacles as more trucks get pulled over to the side of the road.
The Highway Patrol says that the Interstates are more dangerous than they should be and that big rigs are the reason. Last year there were 8,641 crashes involving trucks in North Carolina. Ninety eight of those crashes involved fatalities and 1,839 people were injured (source – WBTV Channel 3, North Carolina).
In Operation Road Watch, troopers would be parked near the Interstate, pulling over trucks and inspecting them to keep motorists safe. Troopers would be checking drivers, checking for CDLs (commercial drivers licenses), log books, checking for fatigue, drug impairment and alcohol impairment to make North Carolina roads safer.
If motorists observe truckers driving unsafe, they can dial *HP (star hp) on their mobile phone to be connected directly to the Highway Patrol.
Published by Atlanta Georgia truck accident lawyer Fried Goldberg LLC, nationwide truck accident attorneys specializing in commercial truck injury law across the United States. For more information about NC or SC trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, talk to an expert truck attorney for a free initial consultation at 1.877.591.1801.