How Bad Are Truck Accidents in Katy?
Recently, the Katy Police Department got a little help from a state representative in addressing a rather large issue regarding commercial vehicles. State Rep. Gina Calanni of Katy filed a bill that would allow the department to hire its own commercial truck enforcement officer. Generally, certified commercial motor vehicle enforcement officers are only permitted for larger cities or at the state level. However, with several truck yards either in the city or at the border of the city, Katy’s roadways are filled with tractor-trailers, many of which are overweight. All the commercial motor vehicle traffic has resulted in damage to the roads, damage to street signs, and too many accidents with other motor vehicles. The bill was signed into law. At that time, it was noted that the city has experienced over 300 commercial motor vehicle crashes since 2010, with many of these trucks carrying hazardous cargo. The Houston Police Department also has a commercial truck enforcement unit, which was established 20 years ago and is staffed by officers who have become certified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. These officers conduct a 57-point inspection and are authorized to place trucks out of commission when violations occur. The enforcement unit conducts at least two of these inspections on trucks in the area each month. In 2017, Texas law enforcement agencies reported 433 fatal crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, including 284 on the state’s rural roadways and another 149 in urban areas. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that, in 2016, there were more than 4,000 fatal crashes involving large trucks on the nation’s roadways, accounting for 11.8 percent of the total number of fatal crashes for that year. Additionally, there were around 537,000 nonfatal crashes involving U.S. commercial motor vehicles in 2016.