KMTR --
According to local news service (KMTR), Eugene police (EPD) has initiated a sting in an effort to crack down on seatbelt violations by commercial truck drivers.
the first of three operations which is completely funded by Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) took part in an Interstate 5 commercial truck surveillance operation conducted last Thursday where officers positioned ON THE I-5 FOOT BRIDGE NEAR GATEWAY MALL looking for drivers not wearing a seat belt or exceeding the speed limit with the offending vehicle information being forwarded to a police officers staged on the interstate.
according to ODOT, 26% of commercial truck drivers do not wear seatbelts whereas only 3% of passenger vehicles.
in addition to Thursday's operation, any commercial vehicle that was pulled over by officers was given a "level 2 inspection" by EPD officers which have been trained in authorized by the federal government to perform such inspections.
by the end of the day Thursday, more than 40 truckers were cited.
Isn't it interesting how Eugene police (EPD) who constantly is complaining that they do not have enough money to properly cover the city can find money and resources to go do a stakeout on the bike path over I-5 to target those evil truck drivers who may not be wearing their seatbelts.
What excuse is of course safety... the real reason in my opinion is as always money.
Despite the fact that the majority of the trucks that travel through Eugene are long-haul truck drivers which increases the chances that the drivers will not be able to make it to court to defend their ticket... several of Eugene police officers have been authorized by the federal government to perform level 2 commercial vehicle inspections which means that they inspect everything from the drivers logbook to the marker lights.
Any of the above violations result in a huge fine and points against the driver which under the new regulations (CSA 2010) may get the driver fired or make it harder for the driver to get a new job.
The money for this operation by the way was provided both by ODOT and the federal government.
next time you hear them complain that they don't have enough money to protect your home and property or have enough beds to house criminals such as what is going on with the Sheriff's department currently, remember this little operation (which is one of three scheduled)
you vote.
