Operation Road Watch 

North Carolina State Troopers and Tennessee State Troopers Crackdown on Commercial Motor Vehicle Violations

ASHEVILLE-Beginning Tuesday morning, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Highway Patrol will conduct Operation Road Watch to crackdown on motor carrier safety violations on North Carolina and Tennessee highways. Operation Road Watch will be conducted on I-26 in Madison County and other highways in surrounding counties for the next two days and will primarily focus on conducting safety inspections on motor carrier vehicles.

“The Highway Patrol is attempting to reduce the number of big truck crashes on our highways,” said Walter Wilson, commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. “We are going to make the highways as safe as possible. I have instructed our Troopers to aggressively crackdown on commercial motor vehicle violations.”

Last year Troopers investigated 7,045 crashes involving motor carrier vehicles statewide. Last year 129 people were killed and 2,342 injured in crashes involving motor carrier vehicles. Interstate 26 is a busy highway and has a high volume of commercial motor vehicle traffic. Last year troopers investigated 635 collisions involving commercial motor vehicles in the Troop G area.

Commercial motor vehicle crashes also contribute significantly to traffic congestion, an increasing problem on the state's highways. The highway patrol's motor carrier enforcement section, along with its local partners, has an obligation to both improve commercial motor vehicle safety as well as the efficiency of commercial vehicle operations. Law enforcement officials believe their efforts will result in fewer serious collisions between motorists and commercial motor vehicles, as well as the significant congestion that such collisions can cause.

“The Highway Patrol is determined to reduce both fatal and non-fatal traffic collisions involving big trucks on North Carolina highways,” said Bryan Beatty, secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. “Trucks exceeding weight regulations or in violation of federal safety regulations compromise the safety of our highways.”

Road Watch is the first campaign to concentrate solely on commercial motor vehicle violations and will be conducted in other counties later this year. Troopers will be using helicopters and unmarked patrol vehicles during the operation. Additionally, State Troopers will be cracking down on motorists driving aggressively around big trucks and ticketing speeders, tailgaters, and aggressive drivers.

Motorists may report dangerous driving to the Highway Patrol by dialing *HP on their cellular phones.

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