WA - Truckers help state police crack down on aggressive drivers

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06:54 AM PDT on Tuesday, July 14, 2009

By DREW MIKKELSEN/ KING 5 News

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ELMA, Wash. - Semi-truck drivers are giving state troopers a hand and a ride to help catch aggressive drivers.
A two-week, federally funded crackdown began on rural highways in Spokane and Grays Harbor Counties on Monday morning. The State Patrol is targeting drivers who drive aggressively near or around commercial vehicles.
State troopers will be riding in the cabs of trucks looking for drivers who cut off trucks or follow them too closely.
Passenger car drivers cause more than two-thirds of all crashes involving commercial trucks, according to Washington State Patrol Sergeant Joe Ross.
Ross said during the increased patrols, troopers hope to change driver behavior and inform them about a truck driver’s challenges.

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Passenger car drivers cause more than two-thirds of all crashes involving commercial trucks, according to Washington State Patrol Sergeant Joe Ross.

“Number one, they cannot stop quickly,” said Sgt. Ross, “Number two, they cannot maneuver as quickly.”
Bob Fuller has driven for Interstate Distributing for 9 years. He said he sees aggressive drivers daily.
“They get in front of you and hit their brakes to make their exit,” said Fuller.
Fuller hopes he can help solve a problem that's become too common.
"It's an everyday thing and it gets worse as traffic gets thicker," he said.
While the special enforcement and the special signs are only up in Grays Harbor County, troopers say if you drive dangerously around a commercial truck anywhere in the state you face the same $124 ticket.