The state of NC is kicking off Operation T.A.C.T., Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks. Due to the high number of commercial vehicle/passenger vehicle crashes on NC highways, the NC Highway Patrol will be targeting drivers who drive aggressively around big rigs.
This from the News 14 Carolina website story:
CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. -- We've all seen it, or perhaps even done it -- speeding past a big-rig on the highway. The excessive speed, combined with a number of different factors, makes a deadly combination.
There are more than 5,000 deaths related to car versus truck accidents on the nation's highways every year. But starting Monday, state troopers are putting a stop to aggressive drivers on the road.
Truckers everywhere will tell you it’s not easy to slow down when they’re driving at speeds in excess of 60 mph and carrying 80,000 pounds.
Passenger car drivers who cut big-rigs off are often to blame for highway truck accidents. Last year, police investigated more than 16,000 wrecks involving cars and trucks, resulting in 151 deaths in North Carolina.
"[Passenger car drivers] are cutting off and stopping in front of a truck and a truck can't stop in time," explained Rose McMurray, the chief safety officer with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
In an effort to educate drivers about these dangers, Operation TACT, or Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks, is in full force. The state Highway Patrol is targeting two specific areas over the next two weeks -- Interstate 77 in Iredell County and Interstate 85 in Cabarrus County. Officials say these specific places have a high volume of truck and car traffic.
"It’s just a constant battle that we face in trying to drive down the number of commercial motor vehicles collisions," said patrol trooper Col. Fletcher Clay. They’ll be patrolling the roads through multiple ways, including on the ground and in the air by helicopter.
Their primary message is never “press your luck by pressing on the gas." Allow plenty of room between your car and the big-rig and always be aware of your surroundings. Hefty fines will be handed out to those who are caught driving recklessly. Troopers say their goal isn't to write tickets, but to save lives.
This is one of the biggest problems we truckers see out here on the highways, people in cars driving like complete morons around our rigs without the slightest indication that they realize how they are placing themselves and their passengers (often children) in real mortal danger. The last thing any trucker wants is to kill someone with their rig because that someone was driving like a complete moron.
More than once I have had to stop and deal with a load that has shifted a bit thanks to having to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting some dolt who pulled this sort of stunt and cut me off. The last one who caused such a situation was a mini-van with a bunch of kids in it. Stupidity. sheer stupidity. Getting there five seconds sooner is not worth the risk of getting killed or killing your kids.
Now if we can just get all states to start doing this, all of the time, everywhere, it would make the job of moving the American economy much easier and safer.