Washington

Washington was selected as the first pilot State for the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) program because of its previous enforcement initiatives to combat unsafe driving behaviors around commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and its success with other programs such as Step Up and Ride and the Click It or Ticket campaign. In Washington State, collisions involving cars and large trucks caused more than 600 deaths and nearly 25,000 injuries between 1990 and 2003.

The Washington TACT Program was funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in September 2004 and the campaign was launched in July 2005 in four corridors, two for high visibility enforcement and two as control corridors. Washington published their final report for the TACT program in May 2006. A combination of effective messages and outreach activities coupled with targeted enforcement blitzes in selected high-risk areas was used to build awareness and educate motorists about safe driving behaviors around CMVs. The rigorous evaluation of the Washington TACT project showed a considerable reduction in unsafe driving behaviors as well as a sharp increase in motorist awareness of the proper way to share the road safely with CMVs. Below is a summary of the results from Washington's TACT program implementation.

The Washington State TACT program was successful in large part due to the cooperative efforts and relationships among the involved Federal, State and local agencies. Today, the program is fully implemented and 10 troopers are assigned full-time to the program. Washington will continue working on its education and outreach program and plans to conduct a TACT enforcement wave in 2008.

	Media and communication samples from Washington's TACT program activities can be obtained from State e-Toolkits.
	View or download the full TACT Report for Washington State.

For more information, visit the Washington State TACT Web site.

Georgia

Georgia received a MCSAP grant to implement the Georgia TACT (G-TACT) program in May 2007. The Georgia Department of Public Safety launched a year-long educational campaign November 5, 2007, to reduce the number of crashes between passenger vehicles and CMVs. The G-TACT program combines educational outreach and media coverage with enforcement by law enforcement officers in two traffic corridors with a sustained increase in the number of passenger vehicle and CMV crashes.

G-TACT is funded with a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) high priority grant administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA Administrator John Hill joined Colonel Bill Hitchens, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Regional Administrator Terry Schiavone; Department of Transportation Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl; Georgia Motor Trucking Association President Ed Crowell; and Brenda Reid of Publix Super Markets to unveil the new highway signs that will promote the safety campaign.

A week-long enforcement effort opened the Georgia program to target aggressive driving in the corridor of I-75 from the South Marietta Parkway in Cobb County to Georgia Highway 140 in Bartow County.

Georgia's first phase of the G-TACT was a success. Pre- and post-surveys were deployed at driver service centers in the enforcement corridors and telephone surveys were conducted by the University of Georgia to evaluate results of the first phase of G-TACT. Georgia held another TACT enforcement wave in February 2008. Georgia intends to continue with the TACT programs on other major transportation arteries. Below is a summary of the current results from Georgia's TACT program implementation.

Samples of Georgia's media and communication activities from the TACT program can be obtained from State e-Toolkits.

For more information, visit the Georgia TACT Web site.

Kentucky

Statistics in recent years for Kentucky show approximately 72 percent of all CMV-involved fatal crashes are caused by a non-CMV driver. To combat this problem, Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement (KVE), supported by FMCSA, received a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant in May 2007. Their TACT campaign was launched in August of 2007. The program was funded by MCSAP high priority grants. The program is focusing on excessive speeding, improper lane changing, reckless driving and not leaving sufficient space around CMVs. The Kentucky TACT project used a data-driven approach to deploy TACT to two of the top CMV-involved crash corridors in Kentucky: Jefferson/Bullitt Counties: Interstate 65 (Watterson Expressway 264 to mile marker 110 near Lebanon Junction) Boone/Kenton Counties: Interstate 75 (Interstate 75 from Ohio River to I-71/75 Interchange)

Preliminary survey results suggested reduced crashes and increased safety practices. Kentucky used traffic camera videos in the enforcement corridors to evaluate results. Kentucky started its second TACT enforcement wave in February 2008.

The chart below summaries the results from Kentucky's TACT program implementation.

Samples of Kentucky's media and communication activities from the TACT program can be obtained from State e-Toolkits.

More information on the Kentucky TACT public awareness materials can be found at the Kentucky TACT Web site.

North Carolina

The North Carolina Highway Patrol received a MCSAP grant in September 2006 and started conducting Operation Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) in September 2007 to crackdown on motorists driving recklessly around commercial motor vehicles. Operation TACT was conducted on corridors of I-77 in Iredell County between the Amity Hill Road and US 21 and on I-85 in Cabarrus County between Kannapolis Parkway and Lane Street.

Each year Troopers and police officers investigate more than 16,000 crashes involving motor carrier vehicles in North Carolina. Last year 151 people were killed and 5,845 injured in crashes involving motor carrier vehicles. These two locations were selected based on crash data and the large number of commercial motor vehicles and cars that travel on these interstates. The program was funded by Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) high priority grants.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol is determined to reduce both fatal and non-fatal traffic collisions involving big trucks on North Carolina highways. TACT is the first campaign to concentrate solely on drivers behaving aggressively around commercial motor vehicles, and enforcement activities will be conducted in other counties throughout the duration of the program. Troopers will be using helicopters and unmarked patrol vehicles during the operation.

During stops for warnings or citations in the enforcement corridors, a flyer was given out to each offender. On one side there was TACT program information and the other side there were safety driving tips. North Carolina has finished post-completion surveys and is in the process of evaluating the results of its enforcement waves.

Results from North Carolina's TACT program will be reported as they become available.

Media and communication samples from North Carolina's TACT program activities can be obtained from State e-Toolkits.

Information on driving tips around large trucks can be found by visiting the North Carolina No-Zone Web site.