NEW BERLIN – The New Berlin Police Department conducted a commercial vehicle inspection in concert with a Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Safety inspection on Wednesday. Tractor trailers traveling along Route 8 toward the Village of New Berlin were instructed to pull into the Unadilla Valley Central School District parking lot, where the behemoth road cruisers were scrutinized and the drivers cautioned about the perils of driving on Route 8.
By approximately 1:30 p.m., four and a half hours after the detail began, 68 tractor trailers had been stopped. The vast majority of the vehicles were on their way to the Utica area, while only ten were headed to the Chobani Yogurt Plant in South Edmeston. Many of the drivers were also from out of state, from locations as far flung as Quebec and California.
“My job is to make my community safe,” explained Police Chief Dominick C. Commesso after disembarking from the side of a truck after checking to make sure the driver was alert and not too tired. Commesso sought to inform truck drivers of the dangers of Route 8 in the hopes that it will help prevent future accidents.
Rarely do the police actually see truck drivers speeding along Route 8, explained Commesso. In fact, in the police chief’s experience tractor trailers are most often seen doing 55 on the dot. However, even going the speed limit on Route 8 can be dangerous. If a tractor trailer driver does not realize he or she is heading into a hairpin turn quickly enough, then it is often too late; the driver experiences a load shift, and there's nothing left to do.
“I think this road was never designed for this level of traffic,” said Commesso. Yet he does not blame either the truck drivers or their employers for the elevated level of risk they face navigating the twists and turns of Route 8. “If they don't see the signs soon enough, then they don't stand a chance.”
Commesso recounted an incident which took place in 2011, in which a car drifted into the northbound lane on Route 8 and collided with an oncoming tractor trailer.
“That driver did everything right,” he said referring to the tractor trailer driver’s attempt to evade the oncoming car by braking and going off of the road. “But now he has to live with that for the rest of his life, the fact that he killed someone.”
During the vehicle stop Wednesday, the New Berlin Police issued eight tickets to truck drivers halfway through the detail. Most of the tickets were for minor things easily repaired such as reflectors and lights, many of which are only applicable to tractor trailers which are subject to more stringent laws than non-commercial vehicles. One of the truck drivers, however, had to be taken out of service when the DOT inspector discovered that its front brakes were not functional despite being a relatively new vehicle.
“Truck drivers get a bad rap, most of them are hard working people and it’s tough being a truck driver,” said Commesso.
The New Berlin Police will continue to conduct commercial vehicle stops on random days throughout the summer.
On Monday, State Senator James L. Seward announced that he had written a letter to the DOT urging a study of traffic safety issues along Route 8.
“It seems there are multiple factors at work, and a full scale DOT study is needed to get to the root of the problem and develop an effective strategy that will best address this growing safety concern,” stated Seward.