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Highway Patrol Targeting Aggressive Truck Drivers

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

Photo Gallery | Video: Focus On Trucks

TAMPA - Florida Highway Patrol troopers this week are focusing their attentions – and speed guns – on those behind the wheels of semis and commercial trucks. The initiative, dubbed Operation Safe Ride, is the result of a disproportionate number of fatal wrecks involving aggressive tractor-trailer drivers, troopers said.

Trooper Larry Coggins, spokesman for the Tampa Bay district, said in an e-mail to The Tampa Tribune today that troopers decided to target commercial motor vehicle drivers because of the number of crashes involving those vehicles across the state. Troopers also will ticket aggressive drivers in passenger vehicles as well, he said.

"It is everyone's responsibility to drive safely," he said. Truckers need to "obey state and federal regulations and passenger vehicles need to share the road and drive with courtesy" around the semis, he said.

Drivers of passenger vehicles often don't realize that it takes tractor-trailers longer to stop or slow down, Coggins said.

The statewide push, which takes place today and Thursday, was announced by highway patrol Lt. Col. John Czernis on Tuesday. He said the operation is part of a series of long-term enforcement efforts to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Florida's roads.

"During this operation, troopers will be watching for unsafe drivers, especially those who contribute to collisions between passenger vehicles and large trucks," Czernis said in a statement.

That's not to say all truckers are aggressive drivers, he said; most are safe drivers.

"However, because of vehicle size, weight, and the type of cargo hauled by commercial vehicles, the potential for causing mass destruction to other vehicles or property is very real," he said.

Despite the bad weather and the threat of being pulled over and ticketed, truckers continued to rumble through the Bay area ceaselessly.

Reginald Williams, a 41-year-old truck driver from Titusville, was on his way to Charleston, S.C., carrying steel beams on his flatbed. He stopped for a quick lunch at a truck stop on U.S. 301, east of Tampa.

He had no problem with troopers ticketing aggressive drivers, as long as it was all aggressive drivers, including those in "four-wheelers," his term for regular automobiles.

"I've never had a problem with the FHP," he said, standing in the rain behind the diner just before noon today. "If you're doing the speed limit, the FHP doesn't have a problem with you. They're just doing their jobs. But if you're an aggressive driver, you need to be targeted."

Williams said commercial truck drivers typically are experienced drivers who seldom cause wrecks. He said when other vehicles cause the truckers to swerve or to brake suddenly, that's when problems arise.

"You can't cut me off and expect me not to hit you," he said. "You are in a truck that weighs about 5,000 pounds. I'm carrying 80,000 pounds behind me."

He recalled a time when a car passed him on the highway, then cut back in front of him in his lane. The car's driver then braked hard when he saw a police cruiser on the side of the road. Williams said he had to stand on the brakes to keep from rear-ending the car. The officer ended up issuing him a ticket for following too closely.

Truckers who get tickets have points added to their licenses and increased insurance rates. He said he pays nearly $1,000 a month for insurance and a ticket would increase that to $1,100 or $1,200 a month.

Statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles show that a small percentage of crashes involve commercial motor vehicles, but that they are involved in a disproportionate number of fatal crashes.

"Of the percentage of total crashes last year, commercial trucks were involved in approximately 8 percent," the statement said. "However in fatal crashes, commercial trucks were involved in approximately 13 percent."

Operation Safe Ride involves all troopers and supervisors over the two-day period. They will be out on the road using radar and video cameras. They also will be in the air watching the highways.

Truckers who do drive aggressively should get ticketed, said Williams, who has been a truck driver for 20 years.

"If they're driving their trucks foolishly, they need to be pulled over," he said.

He agreed with statistics that showed a disproportionate number of fatalities rising out of wrecks involving semis, but figures can be misleading, he said.

Williams recalled a time three years ago when three women in a car crossed a median in Titusville and struck his rig, which was stopped at a red light. All three women died in the crash.

"And I wasn't even moving," he said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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