COMMENT: Cops in trucks? * Canada - Now that’s a great idea!

Canada -Truck News, by James Menzies -25 April 2007: -- I recently came across an article from the Associated Press about a new program in Kansas that puts cops in the cabs of trucks to enforce traffic laws... What a great idea. Basically, police officers ride along with truck drivers and report offences to other cops who are patrolling the road ahead by car. The Highway Patrol trooper in the truck radios details of infractions ahead to his co-horts, who then pull over the offending vehicle and hand a citation or warning to the driver. Within the first few days of the program, 53 citations and 67 warnings were dished out to four-wheelers – many of whom were caught driving in an unsafe manner around big rigs... The trucking industry has donated the trucks and drivers for the program free of charge... I would like to see this program adopted here in Canada. Too often, four-wheelers drive recklessly around trucks because they don’t expect a cop to be riding shotgun and they simply don’t understand the stopping distances required by tractor-trailers. Not only could a program like this punish the worst offenders but it would also serve as a useful educational tool...

* USA - Road safety campaign puts troopers in big rigs
Wichita,Kan,USA -The Kansan/Associated Press -23 April 2007: -- Before you swerve around that semi or tailgate a big rig, consider this: There might be a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in the cab, ready to radio ahead with a report of your infraction... Working with the trucking industry and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the patrol has begun putting troopers in the cabs of tractor-trailers specially equipped with cameras on the sides, front and back... The goal is to catch dangerous driving on tape, ticket or warn offenders and draw attention to the perils of sharing the highway with big rigs...