News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office

Sheriff's Office, trucking industry, ODOT partner on safety campaign   

Posted: May 28th, 2009 11:46 a.m.

Aggressive car and truck drivers on Interstate 5 south of Portland beware! Oregon is continuing its new safety campaign targeting unsafe driving. The Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks campaign, or TACT, is designed to reduce truck crashes through education and enforcement. Specifically, TACT focuses on aggressive driving near the vicinity of large trucks.

This week, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Transportation's Motor Carrier Division and the Oregon trucking industry, are doing a TACT enforcement exercise on Interstate 5 between Tigard and Aurora. Law-enforcement officers will be riding in commercial trucks -- looking for car and truck drivers who engage in risky driving behavior such as speeding, tailgating and changing lanes unsafely.

"It is more than just an enforcement effort -- TACT also involves educating drivers about how to stay out of trouble," said Sgt. John Naccarato of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, who is coordinating law-enforcement participation in the campaign. "Of course, the bottom line objective is to reduce truck crashes -- particularly those in which the car driver is at-fault -- and to reduce the number of people injured or killed on Oregon highways."

People in the Portland and Salem area may also see public-service announcements with TACT messages in movie theaters this summer.

"One key TACT campaign message motorists will see over and over again is, 'LEAVE MORE SPACE,'" said ODOT Motor Carrier Safety and Federal Programs Manager David McKane. "Bad things happen when vehicles get too close to each other. When cars and trucks collide, cars get the brunt of it -- no matter which vehicle is at fault."

In the last several years, three out of four people who died in these collisions were riding in the cars. In fact, in crashes involving a car and truck, the car occupants are 15 times more likely to be killed than truck occupants.

Here are the key messages that the TACT campaign will emphasize:

• Don't cut off trucks. For safety sake, it's recommended that car drivers maintain one car length for every 10 miles per hour of speed.
  
  
• Don't tailgate. Unlike cars, trucks have large blind spots behind them. Also, car drivers who tailgate trucks can't see traffic ahead. If the truck brakes suddenly, the car driver has no time to react and no place to go.
  
  
• Allow trucks plenty of room. Both car and truck drivers must be especially careful when entering a highway or merging with traffic.
  
  
• Don't speed. Speed is the leading cause of all crashes in Oregon.

"Research shows that most truck-vs.-car crashes could be avoided if drivers knew how to steer clear of unsafe situations," said McKane. "With this campaign, we hope to increase awareness, encourage safer driving practices, and make a positive change in the risky driving behaviors of motorists.  All of which will lead to fewer crashes, fatalities and injuries on Oregon's roadways."

The Oregon TACT campaign is modeled after a successful operation conducted in Washington. For more information, visit the ODOT Motor Carrier Transportation Division Web site: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/SAFETY.shtml.

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Contact Info: Jim Strovink, PIO
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office