OSP Safety Check Takes Truckers Off the Road

Oregon State Police took 11 percent of commercial truck drivers off the road for various safety concerns during a three-day inspection at the Klamath Falls port of entry station on Highway 97. Among those pulled, four were arrested for DUII and three cited for meth possession.

The inspection ended at midnight Thursday, just 8 hours after a trucker ran over and killed a fellow trucker at the Siskiyou Pass. Police later arrested 54-year-old Daniel Clarey on charges of criminally negligent homicide, meth possession, and driving under the influence of drugs. (READ FULL STORY)

Of the drivers who were pulled from duty during the inspection in Klamath Falls, OSP cited excessive driving hours, log book deficiencies, and driver qualification issues.

OSP and ODOT issued 34 motor carrier-related citations and 327 warnings.  In addition to commercial vehicle inspections and related citations and warnings, officers reported:

* Four commercial drivers arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII)
* A fifth person driving a passenger car was arrested for DUII while driving near the Port of Entry site
* Three charges for Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine
* One charge for Unlawful Possession of Marijuana
* One driver cited for Driving While Suspended
* Three drivers determined to be too fatigued to continue driving without adequate rest

Similar inspections at the Ashland point of entry on Interstate 5 and other Oregon ports have produced similar results.

Preliminary statistics for 342 inspections resulted in about 10 percent of vehicles and 11 percent of drivers being placed out-of-service for equipment and driver-related safety violations. This inspection and enforcement safety effort involving police, highway department truck safety inspectors and trained Drug Recognition Evaluators (DRE), was Oregon's 15th trucker check operation since the program began in 1998, targeting impairment and vehicle safety.

Operation Trucker Check XV began 12:01 a.m., Tuesday, September 23rd, and concluded 11:59 p.m. September 25th, involving a team of law enforcement officers and ODOT commercial vehicle inspectors targeting driver impairments related to alcohol, drugs, or fatigue, and vehicle equipment safety.

During the last Operation Trucker Check held April 15 – 17, 2008 at the Farewell Bend Port of Entry westbound Interstate 84 in the Huntington area, 12 percent of commercial vehicles were placed out of service and 14 percent of the drivers were placed out of service. There were no DUII arrests during that operation.

ODOT Motor Carrier Transportation Division reported that 20 percent of commercial vehicles inspected in Oregon last year were placed out of service for critical safety violations.  Fourteen percent of drivers inspected last year were placed out of service.

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