PORTLAND, Maine — Thus far in 2021, there have been more than 230 car crashes including one of more tractor-trailer or semi-trucks in Maine, according to the Maine Department of Transportation crash unit.

NEWS CENTER Maine's Hannah Dineen spoke with say new technology has made commercial trucks fairly easy to drive, that is, until drivers in passenger vehicles unexpectedly get in their way.

"What we're finding is people get too comfortable around large commercial vehicles," said Scott Clark of Savage Safe Handling, a transportation company that works in trucking. 

"What they don’t realize," Clark continues, "is the effect it has on those vehicles when they do something unfavorable, like take away stopping distance or cut them off, things of that nature." 

Clark has been working in the trucking industry for 27 years and trains truck drivers in defensive driving. He said when passenger vehicle drivers interfere with big trucks on the road, the drivers are forced into a corner. 

The Maine Motor Transport Association’s Safety Management Council met at the southbound weigh station in Kittery. The purpose of the meeting was to observe the Maine State Police, Troop K, conduct inspections and to learn of new technology implemented by MSP. The event was extremely well attended, with more than 60 members of the SMC present. Many of the members brought maintenance and safety technicians with them to participate. Also participating in the SMC meeting, as they do each quarter, was the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Maine Division.

One new piece of technology demonstrated is the ability to screen for flat tires as trucks drive over the whim strips while entering the weigh station. The technology screens for underinflated tires which can then be quickly verified by Troopers/Inspectors once the truck reaches the static scale area. Troopers and Inspectors have discovered that the technology is accurate approximately 50% of the time, but that sometimes mismatched tread or super single tires are not read correctly by the sensors. The new technology however is extremely effective in screening for underinflated tires and saves time and effort that previously required manual inspection by enforcement. Without a tire gauge, visual inspections often miss underinflated tires.

The SMC, State Police, and FMCSA plan each year to hold the May meeting of the SMC at a weigh station at some location in Maine, in order to observe inspections and share in our shared goal to increase CMV safety in Maine.

The working relationship has been excellent and the SMC appreciates the efforts of Troop K and their willingness to open their facilities to our members in order to observe and ask questions.

To Register: www.mmta.com/kahoot

The Truck PAC golf tournament will again be played at Natanis Golf Course, located on the Webber Pond Road in Vassalboro, on June 16, 2021. Natanis features 36 great holes of golf and will serve as an excellent host for this year’s primary fundraising event for the Truck PAC.

We are still working out the details on how lunch will be provided and what safety precautions will need to be implemented. We ask for your patience as we host an outside event in an effort to bring back some pre-pandemic normalcy!

Sponsorship opportunities are also available (Major Sponsors $500 or Hole Sponsors $150/hole)

All registrations must be received by June 5th. You can register online at www.mmta.com/golf. The cost is $500 per team or $125 per player.

We hope you consider supporting the PAC and registering a team of golfers and sponsoring the event. The Truck PAC funds are used to support business-friendly candidates to the Maine Legislature.

We will keep MMTA members posted as new information comes in. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to email Tim, Randy or Brian if you have questions.