Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered an "intense crackdown" Monday by state police and the Department of Motor Vehicles on unsafe truckers - after the latest in a rash of big-rig crashes caused the shutdown all eastbound lanes of I-84 in Southbury, apparently when the driver fell asleep.
"This has been a summer of record heat and humidity - and record truck crashes," Rell said. "It seems like tractor-trailer crashes are happening every week on our highways, inconveniencing our commuters and imperiling innocent drivers. Moreover, they are happening in clear, dry weather and in light or moderate traffic conditions - and that means one of the biggest contributing factors is high-risk behavior by truck drivers."
"A truck driver too tired to drive is a truck driver who does not belong behind the wheel," Rell said, adding that "truck drivers who speed, makes unsafe lane changes or tailgate should take their unsafe habits elsewhere; Connecticut will not tolerate them." She said "the vast majority of truck drivers are safe and courteous professionals who take their job - and their responsibilities - very seriously," but "those who do not are going to be meeting officers from the State Police and the DMV's truck enforcement unit under some very uncomfortable conditions."