Caltrans Acknowledges More Truck Accidents

At least 14 accidents involving oversized trucks incorrectly routed by Caltrans have occurred so far this year, twice the number state officials have previously acknowledged, according to a report released Tuesday.

The California Highway Patrol discovered the additional accidents after supervisors asked officers to recall any crashes that occurred when trucks with tall trailers tried to pass under older, generally lower, bridges. In all cases, the routes followed by the oversized trucks had been erroneously approved by Caltrans’ permitting office.

The report marks the third time state officials have amended upward the number of accidents caused by such errors. The crashes killed one man and caused tens of thousands of dollars in property damage.

The study was commissioned at the request of state Sens. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) and Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach), and released Tuesday at a public hearing in Downey.

Dunn expressed little confidence that Caltrans can prevent another mistake.

“The problems are more extensive, and it’s going to take a lot longer to fix than I felt we were led to believe,” he said.

Dunn said he was also troubled by testimony Tuesday from two Caltrans permit writers who described a far more antiquated system for issuing permits than Caltrans officials have portrayed. They also indicated that additional accidents have occurred, including some involving trucks that were overly wide.

The troubled truck permitting operation has been under scrutiny since a Westminster man was killed July 16 in Anaheim when a truck carrying a 7,000-pound fiberglass fuel tank struck an overpass, toppling the load onto the victim’s car.

A permit writer who was working overtime failed to note that the truck’s 15-foot-high load could not pass under the 14-foot, 10-inch bridge on the transition between the Riverside and Orange freeways, Caltrans has admitted.

An accident report obtained by The Times shows that the truck’s load was five inches higher than even the permit allowed. The report also said that only five straps--half the number required--held the load in place. CHP investigators question whether the fuel tank would have fallen off the truck if the required 10 straps had been used.

Caltrans officials at first said the accident was an isolated event, one of only three such mistakes made in the previous 3 1/2 years. But the new report shows a total of 33 permitting errors during that time.

The economic boom has produced a 44% increase in oversize truck traffic in the last six years. Staffing in the Caltrans permitting office has increased by just 17%.

In testimony at the hearing, permit writer Joe Weber said many of the problems he cited in a union grievance filed in July still exist, including pressure to produce permits within two hours after they are requested by a trucking company.

“As we’re talking, another 400 to 500 permits are being written today,” Weber said. “Ask yourself when you leave here and [see] an oversized truck, if you want to be driving near it.”

Rick Hill, a 20-year veteran of the state permitting agency, also expressed doubts about the feasibility of any “fail-safe” computerized system that might be acquired. Such a system--one that would make it impossible to issue a permit where known problems exist along a route--has been promised by Caltrans Director Jose Medina in letters to the Senate Transportation Committee.

Since the fatal accident, Caltrans has put in place a “stopgap solution” requiring that each permit be double-checked. Five additional permit writers have been hired, and a computer database used to check routes has been improved.