New Project Hits I-95 - WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - If you've ever driven on a highway, you've seen a tractor trailer or two. The question is, do you pass the big rig or slow down and stay behind it?

The Georgia Department of Public Safety and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration want you to be more careful around the 18 wheelers. They kicked off their latest project G-TACT, short for Georgia Targeting Aggressive Cars and Trucks.

Take any Georgia highway and this is what you can expect to see, tons of traffic including lots of tractor trailers.

"There's a lot of traffic along I-95, said Motor Carrier Compliance Chief Mark McLeod. "It's probably the second most traveled corridor with I-75 being number one." 

Now along I-95 you'll be seeing more officers citing drivers for tail gating, improper lane changes, as well as reckless driving and speeding.

Officers say with more cars and these massive big rigs on the road, there is a much greater potential for problems and they just want to educate the driving public.

Truck driver Tony Cox says that he hopes project G-TACT will teach other motorists to leave truck drivers more space and to be very careful when driving around tractor trailers. He also says they have no zones from the door to the first set of tires, so pay attention because even though truck drivers have side mirrors they still have blind spots.

"A car can get too close to the rear and you won't be able to see them in your side mirrors," said Cox. "It's very important because if you're traveling too close and they brake, you're going to rear end them or have to make a quick lane change, it's just not wise."

Motorist Brett Luhring stays clear of big rigs.

"It prevents accidents and anything we can do to minimize the amount of risk that we pose to them will be a good thing," said Luhring.

Which is exactly what police want to accomplish with this new program.

Between January 2004 and March 2007 there were 11 fatalities in Chatham-County involving cars and tractor trailers.

In 2006, 232 people died in crashes involving large trucks in Georgia.

The majority of crashes involving tractor trailers and cars are usually caused by the car drivers.

This project will run through Friday.  

Reported by:  David Hall, dhall@wtoc.com