Following my story last week detailing a new category (speeding violations) in our annual rankings that show the extent to which state truck-enforcement departments prioritize different violation categories (based on actual violations issued), one reader objected to the implication that his own state of New Mexico could be seen as particularly tough on speed scofflaws among working haulers – or our four-wheeled friends.
Catch the top 20 states for speeding violations (ranked according to speeding's percentage of each state's total violations) via
Craig noted he's held a longtime hope that New Mexico state troopers and local police, particularly in Albuquerque itself, would "pay attention to this situation, but people seem to get away with it all the time."
Perhaps this week's push by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's Operation Safe Driver enforcement effort, focused on speeding in particular, has boosted patrols in that lane and elsewhere, putting focus where it's needed.
What have you seen on your lanes this week when it comes to enforcement, whether involving our four-wheeled friends or not? Drop a comment below to weigh in.
W. Joel Baker, longtime independent owner-operator now working principally as an insurance agent for owner-ops as well as a business consultant, reached out after my discussion of his warnings about acquiescing to any broker's or shipper's demands to be added as an "additional insured" on your own liability policy as a condition of doing business.
Baker's attorney sent along an anecdote that he felt well-illustrated the central conundrum such a practice presents for the owner-operator or carrier who does acquiesce – doing so just gives any unscrupulous insurance company a way to muck up the works to avoid paying a claim. Here's what the attorney said:
