Integrated efforts in North Carolina prove effective in reducing fatal, truck-involved crashes. Prepared for the Enforcement Branch, Division of Motor Vehicles, North Carolina Department of Transportation.

In recent years, North Carolina has ranked as one of the worst states in the nation in terms of the number of fatal, truck-involved crashes. In 1998, North Carolina was ranked 4th on NHTSA’s ‘Top Ten’ list of states having the greatest number of fatal truck-involved crashes (see Figure 1). Needless to say, crash reduction ranks very high on the list of performance goals in the state’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP). An integrated program focusing on analysis, legislation, enforcement, adjudication, and program evaluation is beginning to show evidence of a significant reduction in truck-involved fatal crashes. The article describes the basic components of the North Carolina program, one that could serve as a possible ‘model’ for the rest of the country. (A)