After several odd, even deadly 18 wheeler incidents, how can dangerous big rig drivers be stopped
HOUSTON - It seems like every time we turn around lately there's another bizarre story about an incident involving an 18-wheeler. So we're taking a look at whose job it is to police big rig drivers before something bad happens.
If an 18-wheeler is involved in a crash, the damage can be devastating. So, there are layers of protection in place to try to keep dangerous big rig drivers or unsafe vehicles off our roads.
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"That's the most important thing, public safety," explains Officer Simon Cleveland with the Houston Police Department Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit.
Cleveland and his team conduct random roadside inspections on 18-wheeler trucks daily.
"I normally do about four a day," says the truck enforcement officer.
Cleveland checks to ensure the vehicle and its driver are in compliance. The team is also trained to look for signs of mental instability.
"During a roadside inspection, we can determine, as far as mental health, his condition or if there's an illness that prevents that driver from safely operating that vehicle on the roadway," he said.
18-wheeler drivers also have to undergo routine drug testing at their company and regular U.S. Department of Transportation mental health examinations. "Once a year or every other year," Cleveland says.
Some drivers accused of wreaking havoc on the road still slip through the cracks.
18-wheeler driver, Trinidad Cutshall, was charged with leading officers on a chase and a three-hour standoff on I-10 before a SWAT team took him out of his truck and arrested him. A 15-year-old boy in Livingston was killed getting off his school bus after investigators say 18-wheeler driver, Gregory Jackson, ran him over.
A high-speed 160-mile chase from Montgomery County to Fort Bend left 18-wheeler driver Christopher Lubowski arrested. Possession of methamphetamine was just one of his charges. James Goode was placed under arrest after Precinct 4 says he led deputies on a chase in his big rig. Michael Hart is accused of stealing a tractor trailer from a New Caney company. These are all 18-wheeler incidents in just the last two months.
"It's very often that I come in contact with a driver that shouldn't be driving that I get off the road. So, it's kind of a regular deal unfortunately," Cleveland said adding the violations he usually encounters are due to vehicle safety.
One fairly new tool? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration started a Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse adding the names of every commercial driver who tests positive for drugs.
"It's very useful to us. If that driver is prohibited from driving, we immediately place that driver out of service," says Cleveland.
It's a safety measure Cleveland may be using today to keep an unsafe 18-wheeler driver from accidentally meeting you.