The Michigan State Police today released the results of a 3-month campaign aimed at ticketing aggressive drivers. The campaign, called Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT), began in October and ran through December of last year.
According to Michigan State Police, six West Michigan law enforcement agencies participated in TACT. Officers stopped nearly 3,000 drivers and issued 2,500 traffic citations.
The majority of citations were issued for following too closely and for speeding. Of the 3,000 drivers stopped, 14% were truck drivers.
“This is the first time for the TACT program in Michigan and for law enforcement focused solely on encouraging safer driving for trucks and passenger vehicles,” said Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP). “The project received outstanding support from members of the trucking industry who understand the importance of educating both commercial vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers about safe driving around trucks.”
TACT was designed to combine outreach and education, with an emphasis of on aggressive driving around trucks, Michigan State Police said.
“Participating officers were on the lookout for violations by both passenger vehicle and truck drivers such as improper lane use, careless and reckless driving, speeding, following too close and failure to yield the right of way,” Michigan State Police stated.
Officers focused their efforts on U.S. 131 and I-196 in Kent and Ottawa Counties. The area was chosen following a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) showed high crash rates associated with aggressive behavior in the area.
OHSP supported the TACT program with funds from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Michigan Truck Safety Commission. The participating agencies included the Michigan State Police, Kent and Ottawa county sheriff offices and Grand Rapids, Walker and Wyoming police departments.