Nevada Highway Patrol troopers took advantage of the view from the cab of a semi truck to catch car drivers driving dangerously during an enforcement campaign in Las Vegas this week.
Over 70 Drivers Ticketed During “Badge On Board” Operation
On Wednesday, the Nevada Highway Patrol continued its “Badge on Board” campaign, which is designed to cut down on crashes involving commercial vehicles by targeting passenger vehicle drivers who fail to drive safely around trucks.
Make sure you are behaving this morning because #badgeonboard is on the road! Give semi trucks space #buckleup #dontdrivedistracted #nozone pic.twitter.com/eYanvOwQ3w
— NHP Southern Command (@NHPSouthernComm) September 12, 2017
During the day-long operation on the 215 Beltway, troopers handed out more than 70 citations to drivers.
During the Badge on Board operation, troopers ride along in the cab of a big rig, using the additional height from the truck to spot drivers who are texting and performing other unsafe driving behaviors. The truck also makes a good disguise for catching illegal driving maneuvers because most drivers aren’t expecting to see a trooper traveling in a semi truck.
Riding along with @NHPSouthernComm today. Troopers on the look out for drivers improperly passing big rigs, texting @KTNV pic.twitter.com/8q08sGE8y3
— Austin Carter (@AustinKTNV) September 27, 2017
Here are the unsafe driving behaviors that troopers were looking out for:
- Unsafe lane changes
- Failure to signal lane changes
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Following too closely
- Speeding
- Failure to use due care
- Aggressive driving (a combination of two or more behaviors)
From the NHP’s Badge on Board fact sheet: “Passenger vehicle drivers cause or contribute to 81 percent of the roadway fatalities involving trucks. Truck drivers cause or contribute to 26 percent of the fatalities.“
NHP has issued the following reminders to passenger vehicle drivers on how to safely share the road with trucks:
- When passing a truck, make sure you can fully see both of the trucks headlights in your mirror before changing lanes and maintain your speed.
- A truck simply does not drive like a car. It can take over 500 ft. for a fully loaded truck going 65 mph to come to a complete stop.
- The truck driver has blind spots–or areas he can’t see–in front of the cab, on both sides of the rig and the rear of the trailer.
- If you find yourself driving behind a truck and can see the truck’s side mirrors on both sides, you are at a safe distance behind it. If you can’t see the mirrors then you are too close.