OSP Targeting Impaired Drivers and Unsafe Commercial Trucks During Operation Trucker Check

During the first Operation Trucker Check in 1998, a total of 1079 drivers and their vehicles were assessed for driver and equipment violations.

Photo: Oregon State Police

(WOODBURN, Ore.) - Impaired truck drivers, unsafe commercial vehicles, and an opportunity to determine the extent to which commercial drivers may be operating while impaired by drugs, the twelfth Operation Trucker Check is being conducted April 10th through 12th at the Interstate 5 southbound Woodburn Port of Entry.

Working in conjunction with truck safety inspectors will be law enforcement personnel trained as Drug Recognition Evaluators (DRE) and narcotics detection canines.

The interagency enforcement and inspection emphasis began 12:01 AM, Tuesday, April 10th, and concludes April 12th at 11:59 PM.

Involving a team of law enforcement officers and ODOT commercial vehicle inspectors, Operation Trucker Check targets driver impairment related to alcohol, drugs, or fatigue, and vehicle equipment safety.

The first operation was held in 1998 at the Ashland Port of Entry and has been held at other locations including Ontario, Cascade Locks, and Klamath Falls.

This is the second time the operation has been held at the Woodburn Port of Entry.

"Since the program's beginning, these around-the-clock unannounced safety inspections have helped remove several impaired drivers and unsafe vehicles from our highways," said Sergeant Alan Hageman of the Oregon State Police Patrol Services Division.

"This will be an opportunity through voluntary driver participation to evaluate the use of illicit, prescription, and/or over-the-counter drugs by commercial drivers."

Sergeant Hageman pointed out four goals of Operation Trucker Check XII:

1. Identify commercial vehicle driver and equipment violations and place those out-of-service found to be in violation.
2. Discover alcohol and other substance impairment, arresting those who are Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII).
3. Discover criminal activity that may be happening in conjunction with commercial motor vehicle operations.
4. Determine the extent of substance use by commercial drivers through voluntary collection of urine samples.

During the first Operation Trucker Check in 1998, a total of 1079 drivers and their vehicles were assessed for driver and equipment violations.

Anonymous, voluntary urine samples were requested and 822 specimens received.

Nineteen percent of the drivers asked to provide a urine sample refused.

Testing completed by the OSP Forensic Services Division noted the following:

21% of the urine specimens tested positive for either illicit, prescription, and/or over-the-counter drugs.

7% tested positive for more than one drug.

The largest number of positive findings (9.5%) was for Central Nervous System stimulants, such as methamphetamine, amphetamine, phentermine, ephedrine/pseudoephedrine, and cocaine.

4.3% of drivers tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

1.3% (11) drivers were positive for the presence of alcohol. According to statistics provided by ODOT Motor Carrier Transportation Division (MCTD):

The total number of truck crashes increased in 2006 from the previous year by nearly 7%.

59,064 truck safety inspections were conducted in Oregon, up from 55,840 in 2005.

During inspections, critical safety violations were found in 23.4% of the vehicles and 9.7% of drivers.

Most common mechanical violation found during inspections is brake-related.

Over 5,000 truck drivers were caught during inspections falsifying log books or keeping inaccurate driver logs books in September 2006, Operation Trucker Check XI was held at the Farewell Bend Port of Entry in Ontario.

A total of 480 commercial trucks were inspected out of which 11% were placed out-of-service for critical safety violations, and 61 drivers (13%) were placed out-of-service for varying time periods depending on violations.

Thirty citations and 461 warnings were issued, and two drivers were arrested for DUII.

Participating agencies in Operation Trucker Check XII include Oregon State Police, ODOT-MCTD, Marion County Sheriff's Office (DRE), Clackamas County Sheriff's Office (DRE), Portland Police Bureau (DRE), Beaverton Police Department (DRE), Gladstone Police Department (DRE), and Gresham Police Department (DRE).