A Pennsylvania coalition dedicated to making I-78 safer recently released year-end statistics showing a decrease in fatal crashes.

According to The (Allentown) Morning Call, troopers found safety violations in 95 percent of the 3,100 trucks and other commercial vehicles inspected on I-78 during 2000. In nearly 40 percent of inspections, rigs were placed out of service. Drivers were put out of service in 17 percent of the cases. And there were only six fatal crashes last year, compared to eight in 1999.
The I-78 Coalition, formed in October 1999 after a rash of fatal crashes, is made up of state police, the state Department of Transportation, a trucking association and AAA groups.
"A number of troopers have commented that the trucking industry is well aware of the level of enforcement throughout the Lehigh Valley, and particularly in the I-78 corridor," Capt. Theodore Kohuth told the paper.
However, officials note that the effort does not just target unsafe trucks. "The drivers of passenger cars also bear a great responsibility for highway safety in the I-78 corridor," Kohuth said. "While we are targeting unsafe trucks, it's important to note that much of the enforcement has involved passenger cars."
It would be a mistake to extrapolate the truck inspection figures and conclude that more 90 percent of all trucks traveling on I-78 had egregious safety violations, he told the paper. There are a large number of safety regulations for commercial vehicles, and violations can range from brakes out of adjustment to a missing mudflap. In addition, troopers often target rigs for inspection that look more likely to be unsafe, rather than pulling rigs over at random.