Spool Patrol: Cops cracking down on overheight truckers

Houston police are trying a new tactic to put a stop to the plague of loose spools that have been terrorizing drivers on the city’s roadways.

After five loose spools fell off of trucks onto various roads in Houston since late October, the Houston Police Department announced that they’ll be keeping a closer eye on truckers, according to a report from Houston Public Media.

The Houston Police Department’s Truck Enforcement Unit will be increasing patrols looking for any truck that appears to be taller than 14 feet, 1 inch. Drivers who are hauling oversized loads without permits or drivers who don’t have their loads properly secured will be subject to enforcement.

ROAD HAZARD: Drivers weaved in and out of a highway in Houston, Texas, Friday to avoid a giant, runaway industrial spool rolling through lanes of moving traffic. Officials responded to calls of 911 and cleared the spool off the road. https://t.co/CehkjVzycQ pic.twitter.com/eS3uQvcvmv

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) December 8, 2018

Sergeant Chapel Love with the Houston Police Department believes that the recent rash of loose spools is likely caused by truck drivers who simply don’t know the height of their loads.

Love also believes that many drivers aren’t securing the spools properly: “What started out as a properly secured load becomes improper because it rocks and moves and that in itself is what causes the load to break free.”

While no one has yet been hurt by a runaway spool, Love points out that they pose a serious hazard on Houston’s highways. “That object that’s flying from a trailer is traveling at a high velocity. And that coupled with the velocity of the vehicle that it impacts creates a very significant force. That is a very dangerous combination,” he said.