State Police: 87 Trucks Taken Out of Service During Operation SAFE

Teams Check for Seat Belt Use, Driver and Vehicle Documentation

PSP News Release

Harrisburg – Pennsylvania State Police placed 87 trucks and 53 drivers out of service during a one-day statewide enforcement effort that focused on seat belt use and proper driver and vehicle documentation, Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski said today.

Pawlowski said Operation SAFE, which stands for Seat Belt and Fatigue Enforcement, was conducted Oct. 20 by members of state police motor carrier enforcement teams.

“The teams checked for seat belt use by truckers and examined commercial driver’s licenses, vehicle inspection reports, hours of service logs and other required documentation,” Pawlowski said. “Our efforts are aimed at increasing safety for truckers and others on the roads by ensuring that commercial vehicle drivers are properly belted and are not exceeding federal limits on hours of operation.”

Pawlowski said 1,464 commercial vehicles were inspected, resulting in the issuance of 647 traffic citations and 1,217 written warnings. He said 57 of the traffic citations were issued for drivers not wearing seat belts.

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 citations issued by state police during the one-day program:

• Troop A (Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland counties), 111 inspections; seven vehicles placed out of service; 33 citations;
• Troop B (Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties), 117 inspections; seven vehicles placed out of service; 45 citations;
• Troop C (Clarion, Clearfield, Forest, Elk, Jefferson and McKean counties), 152 inspections; four vehicles placed out of service; 47 citations;
• Troop D (Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties), 149 inspections; two vehicles placed out of service; 43 citations;
• Troop E (Crawford, Erie, Venango and Warren counties), 78 inspections; four vehicles placed out of service; 26 citations;
• Troop F (Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Union and Tioga counties), 106 vehicles inspected; five vehicles placed out of service; 88 citations;
• Troop G (Bedford, Blair, Centre, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties), 110 inspections; five vehicles placed out of service; 27 citations;
• Troop H (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry and York counties), 103 inspections; nine vehicles placed out of service; 24 citations;
• Troop J (Chester and Lancaster counties), 83 inspections; five vehicles placed out of service; 43 citations;
• Troop K (Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties), 67 inspections; four vehicles placed out of service; 25 citations;
• Troop L (Berks, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties), 66 inspections; five vehicles placed out of service; 20 citations;
• Troop M (Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties), 79 inspections; nine vehicles placed out of service; 49 citations;
• Troop N (Carbon, Columbia, Monroe and part of Luzerne counties), 12 inspections; one vehicle placed out of service; 26 citations;
• Troop P (Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming and part of Luzerne counties), 21 inspections; four vehicles placed out of service; 27 citations;
• Troop R (Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna and Wayne counties), 95 inspections; four vehicles placed out of service; 30 citations issued.
• Troop T (Pennsylvania Turnpike), 115 inspections; 12 vehicles placed out of service; 94 citations issued.