Illinois State Police To Conduct 24 Hour Semi Enforcement Blitz

The Illinois State Police will be conducting a 24 hour commercial vehicle enforcement blitz starting today in remembrance of a trooper killed by a drowsy truck driver.

“Operation Sauter” is a consecutive 24 hour commercial vehicle enforcement campaign lasting from March 28-29. ISP troopers will be focusing on checking logbooks to ensure that truck drivers are in compliance with hours of service regulations.

The commercial vehicle enforcement campaign is designed to honor the memory of 28 year old trooper James Sauter, who was killed in 2013 when his vehicle was hit by a truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel. ISP says that that truck driver falsified his logbooks to hide the fact that he had driven for more than 14 hours that day.

During last year’s Operation Sauter campaign, ISP troopers conducted 1,657 truck inspections in 24 hours. 114 trucks were placed out of service and 190 citations were written. Troopers also issued 1,037 written warnings during the 24 hour campaign.

This is the fourth year that ISP has conducted Operation Sauter.

Said ISP Director Leo P. Schmitz, “It has been four years since the tragic loss of Trooper James Sauter, but we will continue to honor his legacy by enforcing road safety laws and keeping the highways of this state safe for all who travel on them.”