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.

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.

In 2007, the WSP conducted a modified TACT Program using only enforcement. The evaluation of this program revealed it was not as effective changing driver behavior because it did not include an ongoing education campaign. In 2008, collision data indicates 55% of the fatality collisions involving CMVs occur on rural routes. With the high percentage of fatality collisions occurring on rural routes, Washington requested a TACT Readiness Grant to implement a TACT Program on the rural routes to change driver behavior and reduce CMV collision rates. Washington will design and implement an evaluation of driver behavior on rural routes and evaluate video tapes to determine unsafe driver behavior by passenger car drivers and CMV drivers on rural roads. This effort will provide the foundation for a potentially larger study.

Below is a summary of the results from Washington's initial 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, outreach, and enforcement program.

	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 an initial MCSAP grant to implement the Georgia TACT (G-TACT) program in May 2007 and received a follow-on grant in April 2008. The Georgia Department of Public Safety launched its educational campaign to reduce the number of crashes between passenger vehicles and CMVs on November 5, 2007. 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.

The initial enforcement effort in November 2007 targeted aggressive driving in the corridor of I-75 from the South Marietta Parkway in Cobb County to Georgia Highway 140 in Bartow County. Additional enforcement waves have taken place in Chatham County (in February 2008), Gwinnett/Jackson/Barrow counties (July and August, 2008), and in McDuffie and Richmond Counties (in November and December, 2008).

As part of an on-going educational outreach, Georgia has partnered with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League for the 2008 and the 2009 football seasons. The outreach package includes:

• A full-color G-TACT ad in the GameDay program sold inside the Georgia Dome at the 10 home games each season
• Radio spots before, during and after the game on the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network recorded by Thomas Dimitroff, Atlanta Falcons' General Manager
• Interactive information booth for a home game at Falcons Landing, fan-sponsors area outside the Georgia Dome
• In-game, fan-interactive message during home games (good-bad photos to generate fan interest then ending with traffic safety message.Tail-gating in the parking lot before the game - good; tail-gating big trucks on the road when you drive - bad)

Additionally, a specially-wrapped tractor trailer with the G-TACT message participates in the parade lap at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the spring and fall Sprint Cup NASCAR races.

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 G-TACT. Below is a summary of the G-TACT Program results. Comparative evaluation results were from pre-enforcement vs. post-enforcement activities.

The final wave of G-TACT is scheduled for completion in mid-January 2009. 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 commercial motor vehicle CMV-involved fatal crashes are caused by a non-CMV driver. To combat this problem, The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division of the Kentucky State Police (KSP), 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.

Subsequently the FMCSA awarded Kentucky with a follow-up TACT grant for FY 2008 and Kentucky is actively working two new identified crash corridors while maintaining maintenance enforcement in the original TACT corridors. The Kentucky TACT project used a data-driven approach to deploy TACT to two of the top CMV-involved crash corridors in 2007 and identified new corridors for the 2008 project.

"The TACT program has been operating for the past year on I-75 in Northern Kentucky and on I-65 south of Louisville in Jefferson and Bullitt counties. During that period the participating agencies increased citations written for moving violations in the enforcement corridors by 45 percent over the previous year," said David Leddy, TACT Program Coordinator for KSP. "Injury collisions involving CMV's decreased 36 percent in the I-75 enforcement corridor and 45 percent on the I-65 enforcement corridor during the past year, compared to the previous three-year average," added Leddy. The TACT program will continue to operate in these corridors over the coming year.

The 2008 kick-off blitz begins a second year of the grant with additional enforcement corridors on I-75 in Central Kentucky in Fayette, Madison, and Scott counties, from mile marker 76 at Berea to mile marker 129 at Georgetown. There will also be a new enforcement corridor north and south of Elizabethtown on I-65 in Hardin, Hart, and Larue counties, from mile marker 58 at Horse Cave to mile marker 105 at Lebanon Junction.

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 and listed below is the timeline for this campaign.

• September 2008 - November 2008 - Evaluation Activities
• Mid September 2008 - Late October 2008 - Media Campaign
• Mid October 2008 - Two Week Enforcement Wave, followed by maintenance enforcement 6 days per month
• Mid September 2008 - Late October 2008 - Public Awareness Campaign
• Mid January 2009 - Mid February 2009 - Second Media Campaign
• Mid January 2009 - Installation of TACT Roadway Signs
• Early February 2009 - Second Two Week Enforcement Wave, followed by maintenance enforcement 6 days per month
• Late February 2009 - Late September 2009 - Public Awareness Campaign
• Mid August 2009 - Mid September 2009 - Third Media Campaign
• Early September 2009 - Third Two Week Enforcement Wave
• October 2009 - Follow-up Analysis

Crash data for October 2008 versus October 2007 shows a reduction of CMV crashes from a total of 29 crashes during 2007 down to 21 during 2008. Crashes for all vehicles have also decreased significantly in those corridors, 130 during October 2007 versus 69 in October 2008. At the same time, citations have increased from 677 during October 2007, to 1,713 during October 2008.

Below is a summary of the results from Kentucky's initial TACT program implementation.

David Leddy, TACT Program Coordinator for KSP, provides the following summary of the programs' success during the 2007 year. "The TACT program has been operating for the past year on I-75 in Northern Kentucky and on I-65 south of Louisville in Jefferson and Bullitt counties. During that period the participating agencies increased citations written for moving violations in the enforcement corridors by 45 percent over the previous year," said Leddy.

"Injury collisions involving CMVs's decreased 36 percent in the I-75 enforcement corridor and 45 percent on the I-65 enforcement corridor during the past year, compared to the previous three-year average," added Leddy.

Leddy advised that the TACT program will continue to operate in these corridors over the coming year. The 2008 kick-off blitz begins a second year of the grant with additional enforcement corridors on I-75 in Central Kentucky in Fayette, Madison, and Scott counties, from mile marker 76 at Berea to mile marker 129 at Georgetown. There will also be a new enforcement corridor north and south of Elizabethtown on I-65 in Hardin, Hart, and Larue counties, from mile marker 58 at Horse Cave to mile marker 105 at Lebanon Junction.

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

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. The objectives of the TACT program in North Carolina were three-fold:

• Reduce the number and severity of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles measured by injury and fatality rates
• Increase public awareness regarding the safe operation of vehicles around commercial motor vehicles
• Improve North Carolina's ranking among states with regards to the enforcement of laws and regulations pertaining to problem drivers and their interactions with commercial motor vehicles

North Carolina set out to meet these objectives with the use of high-visibility traffic enforcement, media awareness, and public out reach. The slogan for the TACT Project in North Carolina was "Don't Press Your Luck, Leave Room for Trucks".

Each year Troopers and police officers investigate more than 16,000 crashes involving motor carrier vehicles in North Carolina. In 2007, 151 people were killed and 5,845 injured in crashes involving motor carrier vehicles. 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. Operation TACT was first conducted in high crash corridors of I-77 in Iredell County and on I-85 in Cabarrus County. Enforcement activities will be conducted in other counties throughout the duration of the program. Troopers have used helicopters and unmarked patrol vehicles during the operation to aid in enforcement. In addition to increased enforcement, a statewide media and outreach campaign are also being conducted to promote the TACT message.

Below is a summary of the results from North Carolina's TACT program implementation.

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.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania received a MCSAP grant to implement the TACT Program in April 2008. The Pennsylvania State Police rolled out their TACT campaign on September 29, 2008 to reduce aggressive driving along a portion of Interstate 81 in Dauphin and Cumberland counties.

The purpose of the campaign is to educate car and truck drivers about the dangers of driving aggressively and reduce the number of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) related crashes, fatalities, and injuries that occur on Pennsylvania's roads. State police look for violations that have contributed to crashes involving CMVs. Additionally the program will:

• Increase the motoring public's knowledge of the limitations of CMVs (e.g., stopping distance, blind spots, wide right turns)
• Increase the number of enforcement actions taken against motor vehicle and truck operators (e.g., warnings written, citations issues)
• Reduce the number of illegal driving behaviors (e.g., speeding, following too closely, reckless driving, and unsafe lane changes)

TACT uses highway billboards, posters, safety awareness messages and brochures to educate drivers about the importance of sharing the road and steering clear of unsafe situations. The enforcement activities started on October 6, 2008. State police used marked and unmarked patrol vehicles and fixed-wing aircraft as part of the enforcement effort.

TACT was sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, an organization whose membership includes law enforcement officials, truck and bus companies, industry associations and insurance companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2009, the Pennsylvania State Police plans to conduct an additional TACT wave along another high crash corridor in another part of the State.

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