Enforcement and awareness campaign aims to teach safe driving practices around commercial vehicles

A campaign to help increase awareness regarding safe driving habits around commercial vehicles is underway in Pennsylvania.

On July 11, the Pennsylvania State Police held a news conference to provide details about the awareness and enforcement campaign taking place along Interstate-81. According to officials, the Together, We Make I-81 Safer campaign is a multistate initiative helping to “discourage unsafe driving behaviors” that lead to crashes with commercial motor vehicles.

The three-month campaign, which began in June and runs through August, will see “extra patrols and proactive traffic enforcement” along the entirety of the I-81 corridor.

In June, Pennsylvania State Police conducted two separate five-day enforcement periods, making 1,154 traffic stops along I-81. Officials say those stops resulted in 1,322 traffic citations and 1,119 written warnings being issued. Additionally, 299 commercial vehicles were inspected during the safety enforcement efforts.

“Keeping the roads of the commonwealth safe is the core mission of the Pennsylvania State Police. And it’s not something we do alone,” Major Robert Krol, director of the PSP bureau of patrol, said during the event. “Together, we all work towards promoting safe vehicle operation by all operators of vehicles on the highways – commercial, noncommercial, motorcycles – it doesn’t matter what the vehicle is, we look for safety by all operators because they’re all interacting together and need to share the road appropriately.”

According to Krol, 42 fatal crashes have occurred on I-81 in Pennsylvania over the last five years. There were an additional 2,025 “reportable crashes” over that period resulting in 779 injuries. Krol said many of those crashes could have been prevented had motorists “exercised responsible driving practices.”

“These vehicles often weigh up to 80,000 pounds or more, and their stopping distance is up to three times what the usual passenger vehicle is that we’re all used to driving on the highway,” Krol said. “Giving them the appropriate safe clearance when you pass is imperative to avoid potentially being struck if something comes to a stop ahead of you as you’re completing that passing maneuver.”

On hand for the event was Bob Dolan, a road team driver for the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association. Dolan, who has 43 years of experience behind the wheel, shared a number of tips for driving around commercial vehicles from a trucker’s point-of-view.

When it comes to sharing the road safely, Dolan says motorists should do these things:

• Avoid the “no zone” blind spots
• Allow room for proper stopping distance
• Be conscience of turning distances
• Be cautious around commercial vehicles in windy conditions.

“By working together, practicing these safe driving tips and driving a vehicle without distractions, we can focus on the job at hand,” Dolan said. “And by doing it safely we can all return home safely every day.”

Funding for the program comes from the Motor Carriers Safety Assistance Program, a federal grant program that awards states funding for programs that “reduce the number and severity of crashes and hazardous materials incidents involving commercial motor vehicles.” This year, Pennsylvania was awarded roughly $16.5 million through the program, which carries a $471 million budget for 2023.

“This is a big deal. The fact that we have brought together our partners and folks from around the state in order to focus in on highway safety, and in particular the I-81 corridor which is such an important corridor for the movement of freight around the country,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Earl Adams Jr. “But it is also, unfortunately, a high-crash corridor. This initiative and effort is all designed to bring attention and awareness.”

Adams says there have been over 5,000 crashes in the last five years in the six states – New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – that I-81 runs through. Among those states, Adams said Pennsylvania has the second most crashes occurring along the interstate. LL