COOPERATIVE STATE AND LOCAL ENFORCEMENT EFFORT FOCUSES ON COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND
(La Plata, MD) – A cooperative enforcement effort between state and county enforcement agencies in Southern Maryland focusing on commercial vehicle traffic in the region has resulted in the issuance of hundreds of traffic citations and dozens of vehicles and drivers being placed out of service for safety violations.
“Operation T-CAT (Trucks and Cars Around Trucks) South” was kicked off early Tuesday morning in Charles and St. Mary’s counties. In just two days of enforcement, police have issued 203 traffic citations and 209 warnings. Commercial vehicle inspectors conducted more than 250 inspections. They placed 68 commercial vehicles and 21 drivers out of service for a variety of safety and vehicle law violations. Violations involving drivers placed out of service ranged from not having a commercial driver’s license, to driving on a suspended license, and to drug possession.
Joining the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division in this effort are troopers from the La Plata Barracks, as well as deputies from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and personnel from the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Comptroller’s Office. The enforcement operation was interrupted today due to inclement weather, but will resume early tomorrow.
Operation T-CAT South is conducting enforcement on roads other than interstates or routes in metropolitan areas. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently noted that more collisions involving commercial vehicles are occurring on rural and suburban roads. Police are also responding to citizen complaints in the region.
Trucks are being weighed, driver’s log books are being reviewed, vehicle equipment is being thoroughly inspected, and cargo is being checked to ensure it is properly secured and is accurately noted on shipping papers. Inspectors are using special equipment to check diesel exhaust emissions.
Police are not only looking for commercial vehicle violations. They are also observing the behavior of automobile drivers in the vicinity of commercial vehicles. Many crashes involving commercial vehicles are caused by automobile drivers who cut off commercial vehicles, follow them too closely, or ride in their blind spots. Deputies from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Operations Section work working with troopers and conducting speed and other traffic law enforcement as part of this operation.
As a holder of a CDL-A I'm utterly astounded that out of 250 DOT stops nearly 10% of the drivers were sidelined!!
ReplyDeleteWhile there are many good drivers even the good ones push their luck.
Once I was riding in the passenger seat and the driver i was riding with puts the truck on cruise control, tells me " here, hold the wheel" and walks away to the back to get something out of his bunk!
This same driver,however,on another occasion, alerted a sleepy driver in another truck and probably saved a life.
He seldom if ever walked around the truck to inspect and I rarely saw others do the same. I tried to do it whenever I stopped and did find a flat tire on two occasions.
I've seen too many heavily loaded drivers driving fast around traffic lights and sailing through red lights or tires smoking.
We all need to use caution and stay the hell off those cell phones. And if you pass, do it and get out of their way.
Most trucks are safe, this is just another way for the state of maryland to make money.
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last time the perdue truck i seen setting in a tree on 113 inspected? when was the last time the perdue truck was inspected that dumped oil up and down rt13.
There after the small guy trying to make a living, come on they put trucks out of service for marker light out on independent trucks.
Yes we need safety and most trucks are safe as i said earlier. But it is more about money than safety.
8:19 that's all good and well. I too have seen trucks all over the road and the drivers were looking at road maps (get a Garmin!). But the increase in enforcement you are seeing has an ulterior motive - REVENUE! There isn't a faster way to pump up the general fund than to invest money into overtime traffic grants for State Police. If their overtime rate is $50.00 per hour and each trooper writes $500.00 in tickets in that same hour, the return on investment is better than you can get on any other investment. You can be sure that you will see many more of these "enforcement efforts" throughout the state in the future. You will also likely see unwritten increases in the Minimum Performance Standards as they relate to traffic citations issued. This increase will be justified by the decrease in time necessary to write each ticket as the law enforcement community implements the new "E-Ticket" technology. Less time for each citation means more citations per hour. More citations per hour means more money in the general fund per month, quarter, etc.
ReplyDeleteFinally Southern Maryland is referred to as Southern Maryland and not the "Western Shore". cj
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the DOT and the State Police is THEY DONT EVEN KNOW THERE OWN RULES! if you lined up 20 trucks and had inspections on them half of the officers couldnt tell you if you were in compliance or not.....and for each officer you would get a different answer....I wouldnt have a problem ...but one will tell you you are not compliant the next will tell you your fine;....
ReplyDeleteThese "safety" campaigns are a total joke! All the state is after is $$$$$$$$$ from hard working truckers. You might notice they focus on fleet trucks (anything with a company name on it), not the independent companies (guys driving what look like beat up uhaul trucks)... as company pockets are deeper. I know of a driver put out of service because one out of six of the latches on his belly box was unhooked. Hardly a safety violation, just designed to improved MD stats. Meanwhile, there are commericals on tv for trucking companies operating without proper insurance or licensing that law enforcement "can't do anything about." Proving the point that it's all about MONEY in the state of Maryland. That is why our tolls (bay bridge, etc) are scheduled to go up DRAMATICALLY next month, but only for commercial vechiles and commuters (whose discount packages are being reduced). They would never dream of raising tolls that would affect tourists or recreational travelers, just the people who's livelihoods are dependant on traveling. Great timing too, with the economy flushing down the toilet!! Welcome to Maryland, "the Free State."
ReplyDeleteI got a new one outa harvey mack brand new, drove it thre the weigh station on 13 north of salisburyand whamo O O S 500 in fine on a brand new truck.i shoulda gone around connely mill road like every one else
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