A coordinated 48-hour enforcement operation on Arkansas highways resulted in 44 criminal arrests and nearly 400 out-of-service orders for commercial drivers and vehicles, officials said.
Operation Highway Shield was conducted by the Arkansas Highway Police with several federal agencies. Officers examined commercial vehicles, reviewed driver qualifications and investigated suspected criminal activity, including drug trafficking and human smuggling.
Inspections found qualification violations
Authorities performed more than 1,700 inspections during the operation. The enforcement effort identified more than 330 drivers who were unqualified or unauthorized to operate the vehicles they were driving. Officials also found 183 drivers who did not satisfy English-language proficiency requirements.
Arkansas Highway Police Major Jeff Smith said the operation was intended to remove unsafe vehicles and unqualified drivers from the road. Commercial vehicles can weigh more than 80,000 pounds, he said, making compliance with licensing and safety requirements a public-safety concern.
“At the end of the day, it is protecting our general public that's traveling down the interstates and to make sure that we get unqualified drivers, unsafe vehicles off the highway,” Smith said.
Smith also said the operation focused on people traveling on the state’s interstates for routine activities such as going to work or school. He said an unqualified driver operating a heavy commercial vehicle places other motorists and their families at risk.
“If we have an unqualified driver driving these vehicles, it puts our public, our families, at risk when they're just traveling to and from school or to and from work,” Smith said.
Industry group cites safety and competition
Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said enforcement of commercial-driving standards affects both highway safety and trucking companies that follow the rules. She said businesses that disregard the requirements can gain an advantage over companies that comply while increasing risks for other drivers.
“Not only are they at a competitive disadvantage when companies are not abiding by those same set of rules, but also you're compromising safety,” Newton said.
Newton said companies that intentionally ignore regulations can also affect the reputation of the broader trucking industry. The operation’s results included both criminal arrests and administrative actions that removed drivers or vehicles from service.
