Tanker driver nabbed for failing to use turnouts at 20 MPH with 15 vehicles stuck behind, CHP says

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is reminding the trucking community about rules requiring the use of turnouts after a recent incident involving a tanker truck in the San Gorgonio Pass area.

Troopers recently made an enforcement stop on a tanker truck “for failing to use a turnout on State Route 371 within our mountain communities.”

CHP said that the tanker truck driver was traveling at speeds of 20 m.p.h. and failed to use two large marked paved turnouts with fifteen vehicles following behind.

Troopers went on to explain the violation:

“Remember: On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, any vehicle proceeding upon the highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time, behind which five or more vehicles are formed in line, shall turn off the roadway at the nearest place designated as a turnout (California Vehicle Code section 21656).“

“Our goal remains the same: reduce injuries, prevent fatalities, and restore a sense of safety on California’s roadways. We urge all drivers to obey speed limits and regulatory signs, avoid aggressive behavior, and share the road responsibly,” CHP said.