In The News
Vermont to step up law enforcement efforts on big rigs
BENNINGTON, Vt. — State officials plan to heighten traffic law enforcement efforts regarding 18-wheelers on Vermont State Route 9 where crashes reportedly have increased recently by 30 percent.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, met Wednesday with representatives from the Agency of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public Safety after two tractor-trailers crashed on the same sharp curve in recent weeks.
Sen. Robert Hartwell, D-Bennington, Rep. Bill Botzow, D-Pownal/Woodford and Rep. Timothy Corcoran II, D-Bennington, a member of the House Transportation Committee, also took part in the meeting.
A tractor-trailer hauling rolls of paper smashed into a pickup on April 16, killing 29-year-old Jeffrey Lamore, of Stamford, and his passenger, Thomas Peterson, 32, of Readsboro. The driver of another vehicle, Paul Beebe, 53, of Brattleboro, was extricated from his car after about three hours and airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y., where he remains in serious condition. Police say the driver was traveling too fast, and the truck load was not secured.
Another truck crashed one week later on the same curve. Police say the driver was also heading west toward Bennington when the truck overturned at the curve. Police said speed appeared to be a factor, and witnesses reported the truck's brakes were smoking before the crash.
Sears said this week that the state's response to the two crashes, bringing the total since 2006 to five, was inadequate. But on Wednesday, officials assured Sears and other legislators that the state was taking steps to make the road safer.
"When the first truck crashed we said that's an unfortunate thing to happen. When the second accident happened we immediately contacted the Agency of Transportation to have them come take a look at the road," said Vermont State Police Capt. Donald Patch.
DMV Capt. Jake Elovirta said truck inspectors will increase patrols and inspections along Route 9 by at least 20 to 30 percent to ensure that trucks are traveling at safe speeds, have properly working equipment and are traveling with secure loads.
Sears said he was glad to hear that enforcement will pick up, but asked to meet again in early June to see how much progress has been made. "I'm glad to hear that there's increased enforcement. I think we need to get the word out," he said.
Legislators pushed for new road signs along Route 9 that would describe the dangers ahead. "Could there be a sign that says 'People are dying here?' It seems to me it would be sobering if coming down the mountain it said, 'Five people have been killed here in the last five years,'" Sears said, as an example.
Botzow also encouraged state officials to let motorists know what could happen to them.
"We should be branding that mountain as a deadly, dangerous place," Botzow said.
Officials said law enforcement officers have difficulty stopping trucks in Woodford because there are no safe pull-off areas. But inspections do take place on Route 9 in Searsburg and on Route 279, the Bennington Bypass, before trucks reach the mountain, according to Elovirta.
"Quite often the inspections are done in Searsburg prior to getting into Woodford," he said.
Officials said the state is also looking to implement new technology as well, such as an Intelligent Transportation System, which measures a truck's speed and issues a warning if it is going too fast, or a system that would broadcast warnings on citizen band radio.