107 Trucks, 72 Drivers Placed Out of Service During Operation SAFE

State Police Teams Focus on Seat Belt Use and Commercial Driver Fatigue

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania State Police placed 107 trucks and 72 commercial drivers out of service during a one-day enforcement effort that focused on seat belt use and driver fatigue, Commissioner Frank Noonan announced today.

Operation SAFE, which stands for Seat Belt and Fatigue Enforcement, was conducted across the state on June 1 by motor carrier enforcement teams.

"According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more than 750 people die and 20,000 others are injured each year in crashes in the United States involving fatigued commercial vehicle drivers," Noonan said. "In addition, federal statistics show that almost half of all commercial vehicle drivers killed in crashes are not wearing a seat belt."

Teams focused their attention on seat belt use by truckers and examined hours of service logs and other required documentation, Noonan said.

During the enforcement effort, Noonan said state police teams inspected 1,588 commercial vehicles, resulting in 776 traffic citations and 1,078 written warnings.  He said 51 percent of the truck inspections found at least one violation of federal motor carrier safety regulations.

"Our personnel issued 107 traffic citations to commercial drivers not wearing their seat belts and placed 57 drivers out of service for duty status violations," Noonan added.

For more information, visit www.psp.state.pa.us or call 717-783-5556.

Media contact: Jack J. Lewis, 717-783-5556

Editor's Note: The following is a breakdown, by state police troop area, of the number of inspections conducted; number of vehicles placed out of service; and numbers of citations and warnings issued by state police during the one-day program:

• Troop A (Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland counties), 161 inspections; 11 vehicles placed out of service; two drivers placed out of service; 34 citations; 95 warnings.
• Troop B (Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties), 140 inspections; 11 vehicles placed out of service; four drivers placed out of service; 84 citations; 78 warnings.
• Troop C (Clarion, Clearfield, Forest, Elk, Jefferson and McKean counties), 136 inspections; nine vehicles placed out of service; nine drivers placed out of service; 48 citations; 167 warnings.
• Troop D (Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties), 132 inspections; six vehicles placed out of service; three drivers placed out of service; 32 citations; 44 warnings.
• Troop E (Crawford, Erie, Venango and Warren counties), 117 inspections; five vehicles placed out of service; seven drivers placed out of service; 45 citations; 56 warnings.
• Troop F (Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Union and Tioga counties), 103 vehicles inspected; two vehicles placed out of service; seven drivers placed out of service; 56 citations; 65 warnings.
• Troop G (Bedford, Blair, Centre, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties), 130 inspections; three vehicles placed out of service; three drivers placed out of service; 31 citations; 75 warnings.
• Troop H (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry and York counties), 93 inspections; nine vehicles placed out of service; two drivers placed out of service; 44 citations; 70 warnings.
• Troop J (Chester and Lancaster counties), 49 inspections; 10 vehicles placed out of service; four drivers placed out of service; 19 citations; 45 warnings.
• Troop K (Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties), 96 inspections; five vehicles placed out of service; no drivers placed out of service; 87 citations; 54 warnings.
• Troop L (Berks, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties), 28 inspections; two vehicles placed out of service; three drivers placed out of service; 11 citations; 31 warnings.
• Troop M (Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties), 94 inspections; seven vehicles placed out of service; four drivers placed out of service; 50 citations; 70 warnings.
• Troop N (Carbon, Columbia, Monroe and part of Luzerne counties), 47 inspections; four vehicles placed out of service; eight drivers placed out of service; 58 citations; 18 warnings.
• Troop P (Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming and part of Luzerne counties), 39 inspections; eight vehicles placed out of service; one driver placed out of service; 31 citations; 16 warnings.
• Troop R (Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna and Wayne counties), 111 inspections; 10 vehicles placed out of service; five drivers placed out of service; 43 citations; 94 warnings.
• Troop T (Pennsylvania Turnpike), 112 inspections; five vehicles placed out of service; 10 drivers placed out of service; 103 citations; 100 warnings.

SOURCE Pennsylvania State Police Department