Load of Trouble : CHP Mounts Crackdown on Truckers After Rise in Accidents

Nary a day goes by in Los Angeles when freeway traffic is not brought to a standstill by a truck accident.

And nowhere has this been more true lately than on the Long Beach Freeway, where it is not unusual to find 18-wheelers hurtling past Porsches at 70 m.p.h. and terrifying other drivers.

The California Highway Patrol was out in force Thursday on the freeway, one of the most heavily used truck routes in the county, pulling over 64 big rigs and citing the drivers for almost 200 violations for everything from bad brakes to violating air pollution rules.

Officers had not been on the road for more than a few minutes when word went out over the CB radio that “Smokey” was out in force. Still, two dozen officers in only a few hours inspected 64 trucks, found 196 violations and ordered 34 trucks off the road until repairs could be made. They also ticketed and sent home two drivers who were improperly licensed.

The operation casts attention on long-brewing difficulties caused by cars and trucks sharing the same road. Forty years ago, commuters were calling for a truck ban on the new Hollywood Freeway. In the late 1980s, Mayor Tom Bradley sought to ban trucks from city streets during rush hour. The proposal died after it ran into stiff opposition from business.

Several years ago, Los Angeles officials also proposed a truck ban on the Ventura Freeway, contending that big rigs can tie up a freeway for two or three hours if they jackknife or spill a load of cargo. But federal officials blocked the effort, noting that big-rig operators contributed gas tax money to build the freeways.

Truckers complained Thursday about car drivers’ bad manners.

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“The cars don’t give us a break,” said trucker Larry Woodhouse, who was stopped Thursday for tailgating. “You’re carrying 80,000 pounds, and they take that extra space you give. . . . It’s not always the trucker’s fault.”

Thursday’s crackdown was in response to a dramatic increase in trucker-caused accidents in southern Los Angeles County. In the last quarter of 1994, big-rig operators were at fault for 2% of the 50 accidents, according to the CHP. In the first quarter of this year, truckers were to blame for 69% of the 62 accidents.

“The public perception that commercial drivers are at fault for the majority of the collisions they are involved in generally is not true,” said Capt. Gary Dominguez of the CHP’s East Los Angeles-area office. “However, with the recent increase in at-fault collisions, we want to stop this dangerous trend before it gets out of hand.”

CHP Commissioner Maury Hannigan said that trucking accidents were “not all the truck drivers’ fault.” Statewide, car drivers were to blame for a majority of accidents that involve big rigs. “Overall, truck safety is improving,” he said.

During a morning roll call Thursday under the interchange of the Century and Long Beach freeways, Lt. Bill Ward, commander of the CHP inspection facility at Castaic, told officers: “Hopefully, we won’t have any accidents on the Long Beach Freeway this morning,”

But only a few miles away, a truck jackknifed, closing an on-ramp for about six hours. A passing CHP officer speculated that the truck took the curve too fast.

The morning strike force consisted of two dozen officers who usually work out of the CHP truck inspection facilities and officers who cruise the freeways in white cars--rather than black-and-whites--looking for unsafe big rigs.

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Shortly after hitting the road, Officer Ken Wallace spotted a fast-moving truck.

“The guy knows we’re here,” said Wallace, who has a CB radio in his car to monitor truck-to-truck communication. “He’s only going 60 m.p.h.” He declined to stop the trucker, even though the speed limit is 55 m.p.h.

Wallace’s eyes were drawn to a truck carrying triangular signs reading “flammable” and “corrosive.”

“He’s going 69,” Wallace said, sitting back. “Now, he’s going 70.” Wallace put on his flashing red lights and siren and pulled the driver over. He ticketed the driver for speeding.

“His excuse was that it’s a brand-new truck, and he’s just not used to it,” Wallace said of the driver, who declined to be interviewed.

Officer John Venhous issued a ticket to a driver for having a load of scrap metal stacked too high on his truck. “A lot of times, people get flats from scrap metal that’s fallen off the trucks.”

Officers say the leading causes of truck accidents are speeding, following too closely and unsafe lane changes.

“I don’t want to scare the public,” Ward said. “Most of the drivers and carriers are very conscientious in maintaining their equipment. But there is something about that Long Beach Freeway that has an inordinate number of truck accidents, and it’s by virtue of the sheer volume of truck traffic on it.”

The Long Beach Freeway, which carries up to 25,000 trucks a day, is the second-busiest truck route in the county after a stretch of the Golden State Freeway near Dodger Stadium, according to Caltrans officials.

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Some officers said that truckers hauling containers from the harbor area travel fast because they are paid by the load.

“Sometimes, it’s not the trucker. Sometimes, it’s the car,” said truck driver Ruben Zaldivar, who received a ticket for equipment violations. “They cut us off real close. It’s hard for a truck to stop.”

The lesson, however, was short-lived. One trucker who had been cited for several equipment violations was seen minutes later reading the inspection report while driving on the freeway.

Officials said that more crackdowns are planned on other freeways.