It’s time for your Tuesday Daily Trucker News Update!
We have a lot of news to cover today, including:
- Georgia police go on a three-day citation blitz,
- More highway and parking nightmares,
- And chickens flew the coup – literally!
So, let’s get trucking!
Britnee: Georgia police went on a three-day blitz issuing nearly 800 citations during the surprise law enforcement operation.
This all went down last week along the I-95/I-16 corridors and the areas near the Port of Savannah and Brunswick.
The Georgia DPS officers’ main goal? To catch distracted drivers. Another focus was on inspecting CMV transporting intermodal containers, CMVs transporting hazardous materials, and the unsafe operations of a CMV.
During the blitz, officers conducted 679 non-hazmat inspections and 118 hazmat inspections. 84 CMVs and 45 drivers were placed out of service by the officers during the three days.
And there’s more… officers issued 50 citations for “Following Too Closely”, 57 citations for “Improper Lane Usage”, and 148 citations for “Cell Phone Usage/ Distracted Driving”.
This adds to the many surprise CMV-focused enforcement operations Georgia DPS has conducted on I-16 so far this year.
Niki: More citation news – we are on a roll today! A truck driver was reportedly slapped with a citation for an unsuccessful attempt to cross a historic Delaware bridge.
The Smith’s Bridge, originally built in 1839, is located over Brandywine Creek in New Castle County, Delaware.
According to police, the semi-truck attempted to cross the bridge, but ultimately caused damage to the historical site.
The Smith’s Bridge is still structurally sound though the truck’s trailer suffered significant damage.
The truck driver was cited for “inattentive driving” along with other violations. The bridge was built in 1839 and rebuilt after it was set on fire in 1961.
Britnee: Here’s a scary story for you – a major Houston highway is closed due to huge cracks and lots of buckling in the roadway.
Transportation officials closed the southbound highway 288 in Houston, Texas citing dangerous structural damage.
Some good news though – Tolls have been waived from the Southmore Boulevard entrance ramp to the Beltway 8 road entrance ramp to reduce traffic congestion caused by the road closure.
Not dates yet on how long the highway will be closed, but if you’re headed that way checkout Drive288.com for alternate routes.
Niki: Serious unrest is happening in a county in Florida as officials look to solve the truck parking deficit in the area.
A few years ago, civic leaders and citizens joined forces to oppose the plan for a giant truck stop along Interstate 4 in West Volusia, Florida.
Well, the plan for the truck stop is back, and if citizens want to continue having their needed items, they might have to learn to live without it at this point.
There are only 37 truck parking spots at rest stops along I-4 in Longwood.
Florida’s Department of Transportation has proposed adding 500 truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridors in Volusia surrounding counties.
Britnee: Quite the haul! Almost 160 pounds of cocaine was seized at the Canadian-US border.
Canada Border Services Agency officers seized 64 bricks of cocaine during a secondary inspection. The commercial tractor-trailer appeared to be carrying personal-care products as it tried to enter Canada.
But during that secondary examination, officers noticed anomalies.
As the officers unloaded the trailer, they found 64 individually wrapped brick-shaped objects. The contents tested positive for cocaine.
Get this – The bricks of cocaine had a combined weight of nearly 160 pounds, with an estimated value of more than 3.5 million dollars.
Niki: And finally, chickens literally flew the coup! Last week, a tractor-trailer hauling live poultry overturned near Lynnville, Kentucky leading to chickens making their great escape!
This all happened on Kentucky State Highway 94 East in Graves County after the truck overturned around 1 p.m.
The highway was blocked for about 3 miles until about 7:30 p.m., when all lanes were reopened.
But, sadly the chickens didn’t get to have that long of an adventure… they were quickly rounded back up.
That does it for today’s update!
Tune in tomorrow for all the trucking news you need!
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