Alabama is the latest state to join the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) campaign, while Kentucky recently launched the final blitz of enforcement for its TACT campaign, an effort to boost safety in and around commercial motor vehicles
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The Alabama Department of Public Safety recently received a $645,000 grant from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to crack down on unsafe driving behaviors that contribute to serious fatal crashes between personal and commercial vehicles. These behaviors include unsafe lane changes, following too closely, failure to signal lane changes, failure to yield the right of way, speeding, and aggressive driving, which is a combination of two or more risky driving behaviors.

"Through the TACT program, we are working to improve driving behavior, especially the aggressive driving behaviors that prevent personal and commercial vehicles from sharing the road safely," said Col. J. Christopher Murphy, Alabama's public safety director. "We want the motoring public to understand and practice safe ways to share the road, taking into account the special considerations of CMV size and maneuverability."

FMCSA introduced TACT in 2004 as a pilot program in Washington State. Based on the success of the pilot, FMCSA has encouraged other states to participate, and Alabama is now one of 15 states that have received federal funding to implement a TACT program.

"Both nationally and in Alabama, driver-related factors are indicated for the automobile driver in more than 80 percent of the fatal crashes involving a car and a commercial motor vehicle," said Judy Van Luchene, FMCSA division administrator. "The Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks program focuses on both cars and commercial motor vehicles and is one more effort that combines education and enforcement to ensure more of our citizens arrive safely at their destination."

As part of Kentucky's program, officials will heighten enforcement on Interstates 65 and 75 over the next few weeks, looking for drivers who show risky driving behavior around big rigs. Motorists can expect to see enforcement on the north and southbound lanes on I-75, between exits 76 and 129, as well as on I-65 between exits 58 and 94. The TACT initiative is targeting the counties of Bullitt, Fayette, Hard, Madison and Scott.

According to Lt. Col. Mitch Bailey, division commander for the Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division, most people simply don't understand the dangers of heavy-duty trucks. "A car traveling 80 mph only needs 160 feet to stop," he said. "A commercial truck driving at that same rate of speed behind that car would take somewhere between 800 and 1,200 feet to stop."

Kentucky will add new signage to its highways to warn drivers to leave more space when passing and maneuvering around large trucks. Scheduled TACT enforcement dates for Kentucky's final blitz will run through Sept. 30.

Other TACT states include Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Nevada, Oregon, Indiana, Montana and New Jersey. A few states have similar efforts that are locally funded: South Dakota, Maine, Connecticut and Hawaii.