Georgia investing $10M in ramping up truck enforcement

Georgia’s governor plans to crack down on accidents involving commercial vehicles on I-16, I-85 and I-95 by spending $10 million to hire 60 new enforcement officers.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal comes on the heels of several high-profile accidents near the Port of Savannah that led to outcry by politicians and the public and protests by some union truckers.

Deal last week announced the Georgia Department of Public Safety and the Georgia Ports Authority are partnering to pay for the increased enforcement efforts.

There are currently 234 commercial vehicle enforcement officers serving in 10 regions. The additional officers will patrol areas identified by the Department of Public Safety as “high crash corridors.” These areas include I-16 and I-95, as well as the Atlanta metro area, and the area south of Atlanta along I-85.

Additional safety measures have also been implemented as part of this campaign, including:

A total of 10 people died in two separate accidents within a month of each other in April and May.