Why was the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) visiting Miller Transporters?
Usually a FMCSA visit is bad news that can include shutting down a business. However, in this instance, the visit was very positive.
Scott Darling, director of the FMCSA based in Washington DC stopped by the corporate offices of Miller Transporters in Jackson MS to get a personal view of the Troopers and Truckers program, also known as MCAP, Motor Carrier Apprehension Program. The program has been running for over a year and a half now to promote safety around commercial vehicles in high crash corridors.
MCAP is a grant program that pays troopers to ride along with selected carriers on their off day. On average, 10 troopers work a region each month. A trooper will ride along in the passenger seat of a commercial vehicle to observe any type of traffic violation by motorists in other vehicles.
When a violation is spotted, he calls it to the troopers on the highway who are usually running two-tenths of a mile behind. They stop the violator and issue a ticket. Since the program started 7,344 citations have been written to cars and trucks and 7,757 commercial motor vehicles have been inspected.
Miller Transporters and the Motor Carrier Division of the Mississippi Highway Patrol have partnered in this campaign since 2014 in the Jackson area, working the high crash corridors around the city. A member of the Miller safety department will drive while a trooper is looking for reckless driving behavior.