Garden City cracking down on big rigs

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By Christy Hutchings - bio | email

GARDEN CITY, GA (WTOC) -We've all been here before, riding right beside a big rig, or a truck hauling logs. We keep a watchful eye, but there's some things the average driver just won't notice, things that could potentially hurt us.

That's why Garden City police created a new task force, aimed at making sure truck drivers are following the rules. "It's been a successful program," said Corporal Kyle Malin with Garden City police. "We see drivers are taking more of an initiative to be safe out on the roads."

Corporal Malin sees first-hand how poorly some of the trucks are being maintained and he's the first to pull you over, if something just doesn't look right.

Thursday WTOC rode along with him and within minutes, he pulled over trucker Otis Mercer, whose log truck wasn't up to standards. To start, Mercers lights were not working, the strap holding the logs in was loose. After further inspection Malin noticed Mercer had two tires, side by side, that were two different sizes. While that is dangerous, what concerned Cpl. Malin the most was a tire that had no tread left on it.

"To the average person this is a log truck, but you don't realize this coming off at 70 miles an hour hitting car could be detrimental," Cpl. Malin said about the tire.

Mercer was cited and they took his truck off the road. We spoke with him after he learned of all his violations and asked if he ever worried that he'd hurt someone. Mercer said, "I didn't even think about it." Mercer did admit though, he needs to change his ways. "Next time I will pay a little more attention."

Some may find it an inconvenience to be pulled over for safety checks, but for the most part the folks we encountered Thursday night weren't upset at all. "It's a new experience for me, never had this here done, but I think it's a good thing to do," said one trucker.

"They're just doing their job, keeping us safe on the roadways. You can't be mad at that," said another driver.

Garden City police say since they started the program, they've had significantly fewer big rig accidents.