COLUMBUS – Today the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be participating in a 24-hour joint special enforcement operation conducted by Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan law enforcement agencies to increase patrol efforts for commercial motor vehicles. These agencies will focus their efforts on interstates and state routes throughout these four states.

Ohio State Highway Patrol officers will focus their enforcement efforts on the unsafe operation of commercial vehicles that must comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Violations that will be targeted will include: speed, careless driving, equipment violations, driver qualifications, hours of service, hazardous material transportation and oversized/overweight vehicles, and vehicles in violation of the Move Over, Slow/Down Law, which requires motorists to move over or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles with their lights activated.

“The Patrol is pleased to be able to partner with these law enforcement agencies and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to help keep our roadways safe,” Colonel Richard H. Collins, Patrol superintendent, said. “In Ohio, the leading causative factors in commercial vehicle crashes are failure to yield, left of center and improper speed.”

Based on provisional statistics, through July of this year there were 86 commercial vehicle-related fatal crashes resulting in 99 deaths. Of these fatal crashes, 29% were the fault of the commercial driver.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol will be enforcing Ohio and Federal regulations during this multi-state commercial vehicle enforcement operation.

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