STATE POLICE REMOVE 23% OF ALL COMMERCIAL VEHICLES STOPPED DURING OPERATION TAILGATE: 'MAY DAY'

(Largo, MD) - Operation Tailgate: “May Day”, a special safety initiative conducted by the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division removed 23% of all the vehicles stopped and deemed unsafe yesterday in Prince George’s County.

A total of 580 commercial vehicles were inspected from 7:15 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. yesterday in an effort to remove unsafe and overweight commercial vehicles off of one of Maryland’s busiest interstates. State Police placed 132 vehicles out of service for equipment violations. Troopers and inspectors placed twelve drivers out of service for driver qualification violations, or for violations of hours-of-service regulations. Two people were arrested for outstanding warrants and one was arrested for a handgun violation. Troopers issued 140 citations and 361 warnings during this one day initiative.

Yesterday’s enforcement took place at Fed Ex Field and focused on the I-495/I-95 corridor. Operation Tailgate: “May Day” is a commercial vehicle safety initiative designed to remove dangerous drivers, dangerous commercial vehicles and dangerous cargo from Maryland highways. Operation Tailgate started in 2005 and takes place three times a year.

A new component was added to this Operation Tailgate initiative. A Preventive Radiation and Nuclear Detection (PRND) was implemented to detect the movement of radioactive materials (natural or for illegal purposes) through the area of operations. During the enforcement initiative, there were two activations for radiation that were adjudicated by the PRND Teams as natural materials.

Last year, the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division personnel weighed more than two million commercial vehicles and conducted more than 69,000 roadside inspections. They conducted over 1,800 maintenance audits and more than 220 compliance reviews, checking trucking company maintenance records, driver qualification files, hours of service, and other safety related information. Troopers issued 39,111 citations and 45,514 warnings for traffic and equipment violations involving commercial vehicles during 2012.

The Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division operates ten weigh and inspection stations across Maryland. The Division also has roving units that work throughout the state with portable scales and truck inspectors.
Operation Tailgate: “May Day” included assistance from MSP Special Operations Division, the Work Zone Automated Speed Camera Enforcement Unit, the Maryland Department of Environment, Maryland Comptroller’s Office, Motor Vehicle Administration and State Highway Administration. The inspection portion of the operation also included assistance from allied police agencies which included the Prince George’s County Police Dept., Greenbelt Police Dept., Riverdale Park Police Dept., and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office.