California Truck Accident: Cement Truck Accident

Highway 4 Connector to I-680 Reopens

MARTINEZ — All lanes and exits at the Highway 4 and Interstate 680 interchange have been reopened, the California Highway Patrol said.

CHP officers were able to right and tow a cement truck that overturned on the connector between eastbound Highway 4 and southbound I-680.

The accident was reported about 2 p.m., when the truck overturned, causing it to slide about 75 feet. The driver, a 46-year-old Antioch man, was taken to Kaiser Medical Center in Walnut Creek and treated for cuts to his mouth and pain in his left leg.

The truck spilled 30 gallons of diesel fuel and cement, which has been cleared off the connector road.

Story by Contra Costa Times on 07/11/2008

Truck Accident Has Some Questioning If Semi Truck Ban is Needed

Salt Lake City, Utah Truck Accident

A semi truck collided with a car this morning in the construction zone of Interstate 80 -- a route the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has asked drivers of big rigs to avoid.

The accident backed up traffic for hours and is once again raising questions about why so much trucking traffic is in the narrow lanes.

Right now, a typical traffic slowdown on I-80 happens in that construction zone. This morning at the 700 East overpass, the road was blocked more than three hours.

The semi truck's cab hung up on a Jersey barrier. Wedged in between the two was a car mangled by the high-speed crash. "For the seriousness of the crash, they got pretty lucky that the injuries were as minor as they were," said Sgt. Anthony Carrubba, with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP).

UHP says a Cadillac traveling east in front of the semi clipped a traffic barrier on the right. The semi tried to avoid the car and moved left, forcing another car into the left-side barrier. The semi then came back to the right and slammed the Cadillac against the barrier and almost over the edge.

The truck driver and the Cadillac driver went to the hospital with minor injuries. "It's a very dangerous situation for the semis to use I-80. We've requested them to use 215 and go around the belt route. That hasn't been as successful as we would hope," Carrubba said.

Even after the crash, dozens of big rigs waited in traffic to roll on by. UDOT has the authority to ban semis from the construction zone, and even considered that when construction started, but for now has decided not too.

"Because of the data we have on record, we didn't see the need for that. We just haven't seen a big increase involving semis or any other vehicles that are different from any other road in the state," said UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo.

UDOT says many trucks do take I-215, otherwise traffic would be worse. State troopers would like to see all truckers comply. "It would be beneficial to all of us. It will only take them probably about 14 or 15 miles off of their route," Carrubba said.

Carrillo said, "We're halfway into the project. We have not seen an increase in accidents involving semis, so we don't anticipate having to ban semis anytime soon."

We found one Utah trucking company that is requiring its drivers to detour around I-80, in an effort to stay safe. Action Transport weighed the state's request and looked at the extra dozen or so miles drivers would have to go out of their way. Bosses decided to make it policy.

Safety manager Reed Newman says, "It may cost a little bit more to be safe out there, to maintain the vehicles, to put in a little more fuel in to drive that extra little bit around 215, in this instance, but safety is more important."

Since most truckers are paid by the mile, Newman acknowledges the incentive is to get from point A to point B along the shortest route. But he also told us he believes many of the local drivers make the detour and that the out-of-state truckers are more inclined to take I-80 because they don't realize how dangerous the situation is in the construction zone.

Speeding is a bigger issue. UHP has issued more than 240 tickets in the construction zone. If you travel 65 miles per hour rather than the posted 55 mph, you only save yourself 20 seconds through the two-mile zone.

Story by Jed Boal and Marc Giauque on July 9th, 2008

Trucker Dodges $500K In Tolls With Stolen E-ZPass

Trailer's Modified Air System Could Lift Axles On Turnpike

BOSWELL, Pa. -- A Blairsville truck driver is accused of avoiding more than a half-million dollars in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls by using a stolen New York E-ZPass transponder.

Also, Pennsylvania state police said Thomas Howard Wambold's tractor-trailer has a split-axle trailer with a modified air system that can lift the axles over toll indicators, with mufflers that can prevent toll collectors from hearing the axles being raised.

Wambold, 38, used the stolen E-ZPass more than 1,200 times between September 2005 and March 2008, and he owes $575,980 in full fares to the turnpike commission, police said.

Evading a fare carries a fine of $1,000 -- which means that all of Wambold's alleged evasions would add up to about $1.24 million, according to police.

Police said Wambold admitted using the E-ZPass after they stopped him for a burned-out license plate light near milepost 123.6 in Allegheny Township, Somerset County. Police said he also exceeded the turnpike's 40-ton weight limit by more than 17 tons.

Wambold is charged with theft, access device fraud, receiving stolen property, possessing instruments of crime and exceeding the weight limit.

He was being held at Somerset County Jail on $25,000 straight bond Monday night.

Story from the Pittsburgh Channel on 7/8/08

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