An enforcement campaign in Wisconsin that puts troopers in the passenger seats of commercial motor vehicles could help to address some of the safety concerns of truckers.
During a recent interview with Land Line Now, Sgt. Daniel Diedrich of the Wisconsin State Patrol shared details from the state’s recent Trooper in a Truck campaign – an annual enforcement and education initiative that aims to reduce the number of crashes and injuries involving commercial motor vehicles.
Diedrich said the annual collaboration between law enforcement and the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association not only increases troopers’ ability to spot violations but also is a good opportunity to get truckers’ perspective when it comes to “aggressive and unsafe driving” around large trucks.
“We see a lot of violations as it is, but it’s amplified – we’ll call it five- to tenfold – when you get above the height of normal traffic. So we really want to partner with these local carriers,” Diedrich added. “There are issues, and this is how we want to work with the industry to remedy some of the things they’re dealing with on a daily basis.”
According to data from the Wisconsin DOT, over the past five years, the state has averaged roughly 7,000 crashes involving large trucks every year. In 2023, there were 70 fatalities resulting from crashes with commercial motor vehicles.
During the weeklong campaign, troopers focused on a number of dangerous driving behaviors in and around commercial motor vehicles but placed a particular emphasis on distracted driving, something the state has seen a “dramatic rise” in, Diedrich said.
While he was not able to share specific stats, he added that the results of the Trooper in a Truck campaign have been “very steady” and that troopers have “made contact with hundreds of vehicles during these initiatives.”
“These are not an ‘ah-ha, I got ya’-type situation,” he said. “We realize that the patrol technique of being in a commercial motor vehicle is definitely not the norm, but we’ve had some very good success with really getting drivers to understand what the thought process is.”
The yearly enforcement effort has also helped troopers get a better idea of what it’s like to be behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle. Diedrich said the collaboration has afforded officers the chance to use driving simulators, which have helped give law enforcement officials a better idea of what truckers are dealing with when it comes to blind spots and other in-cab safety concerns. LL
Listen to the full interview below to find out more about the program as well as what reactions Diedrich said he got from the drivers.
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