BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
This fall's crackdown on dangerous truck drivers appears to have reduced the number of trucks' at-fault crashes on Interstate 75, said Lt. Tim Bally, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Hamilton post.
That's why the agency's plans for 1999 include more motor carrier enforcement patrols in Montgomery, Butler and Warren counties, Lt. Bally said.
"Even after we work it, we do see a decrease, or a definite difference" in the number of at-fault truck crashes, he said. "They tend to behave a little more and slow down a little when they know we're out there."
The patrol stepped up its truck safety enforcement, looking for unsafe equipment and dangerous driving habits, after analyses of crash data produced disturbing statistics. Between 1992 and 1997, truckers were at fault more than half the time in car-truck crashes -- and the number of such crashes has increased significantly on some sections of I-75, the patrol said.
Using a complex evaluation system, the patrol calculated that truckers' at-fault crashes decreased by at least 20 percent this year, thanks to the additional enforcement.
Between mid-September and the first week of November,
at least three troopers and two motor carrier enforcement specialists patrolled the 26-mile stretch of I-75 between Interstate 275 and the Dayton Mall. "We usually have only one trooper out there," Lt. Bally said.
During that eight-week period, the number of commercial truck at-fault crashes decreased to one -- and no one was injured. For the same period during the past five years, there has been an average of four truckers blamed for crashes.
Troopers stopped 1,230 motorists -- mostly truckers -- and issued 501 citations and 330 warnings. The most common violations were speeding and improper passing, Lt. Bally said.
Troopers also ordered 44 trucks out of service because of serious defects. "There are some real pieces of junk out there," Lt. Bally said. Some trucks' tire treads are peeling or totally bald -- and some have brake systems with parts that are so rusted, "they could break at any minute," he said.
