Officers with DPS and several other agencies will be enforcing state and federal laws as they relate to commercial vehicles from Casa Grande to the New Mexico border along Interstate 10. This is in an attempt to reduce the number of crashes along Interstate 10 which is a major corridor for commercial vehicles.

Operation Southern Shield will focus on commercial driver’s logbooks looking for “hours of service” violations. “Over hours” driving can lead to fatigued driving, a major factor in commercial vehicle crashes.

Other areas of focus will be educating both commercial drivers as well as other motorists. This opportunity will help inform people as to the blind spots and other hazards as they relate to commercial trucks.

Past operations in the same area have shown to be very successful. In 2011, 759 commercial trucks were inspected along the same route on Interstate 10 during a two day period. Of those, 80 drivers and 73 commercial trucks were placed out of service. In 2012, 792 trucks were inspected leading to 119 drivers being placed out of service as well as 63 commercial trucks.