[Press Release] Truckers and Tolls

[Timothee Olsen]

WWW.LSSD.SAGOV.US Los Santos County Sheriff's Department News Release December 31st, 2022 "A TRADITION OF SERVICE" Sheriff Bobby Kirk

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• Truckers and Tolls
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• Daily commuters and citizens of our beloved county, we hope that the festive period is treating you well and everybody is staying warm during the snowy season. In recent weeks it has been brought to our attention that an alarming amount of delivery truck drivers are getting wedged at the Braddocks tolls causing their vehicles to be stuck and seriously damaged. If you have been traveling this way previously, you may have noticed this happening, and once arriving at this commotion you wonder and think to yourself "Well what should I do I can't go through." Hopefully, we can shed some light on this topic so that our community members have a bit more knowledge of what their options are in this admittedly troubling situation.
  
  
  What to do if you're a truck driver and you get stuck?
  Delivery drivers of Paleto and the county as a whole play a very important part in daily life as they deliver essentials to keep our stores stocked with goods in a timely manner. The correct way to utilize the tolls in order to minimize collision or incident would be to make sure the barrier arm is all the way down before trying to go through it. As professional drivers it is important to know the length of your vehicles and not try to race through the toll as the arm is in motion, going up or down. We understand that there is a schedule to stick to, however, we wish safety to be a priority so in order to be safest when coming to any of the tolls, make sure the arm is all the way down and you activate it. This gives you enough time for the whole of the load to make it through the toll without consequence. This being said, if you do find yourself stuck we ask that you stay with your vehicle, move out of the way of traffic, call 911 and explain the situation (if you need medical attention then ask the operator for both Police and Medics) and wait near your vehicle until deputies arrive.
  
  
  What to do if you're a citizen and you come across this scenario?
  If on your daily commute you come across this troubling situation we ask that there are a few things you do not do:
  • Pull a U-turn and drive in the incorrect lane of travel
  • Skip the tolls entirely if informed about the blockage beforehand
  • Try to ram the vehicle with one of your own.
  Performing any of these dangerous traffic maneuvers could possibly get you or somebody else seriously injured or worse and if caught by law enforcement you will be held responsible for your own actions and you will be charged accordingly, we will not be taking "The toll is blocked" as an excuse for breaking the law. What we ask you to do is pull to the side of the road, call 911 and stay in your vehicle until law enforcement arrives so they can deal with the situation and request recovery for the broken-down vehicle. Once the vehicle is unblocked you can go ahead with your day with the dangers averted.
  
  Hopefully, with these guidelines set in place, we can work on preventing the number of times our delivery trucks get damaged and that all citizens of the county remain safe. We hope to see a significant decrease in the number of truckers being wedged over the next coming weeks as long as they follow these procedures. We will be monitoring the statistics in the future and will take more measures if the numbers do not improve.

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• For Information, Contact:
  
  
  Deputy Sheriff II Dave Spencer
  (909) 531-3461 [email protected]
  
  Sheriff's Information Division
  Los Santos County Sheriff's Department
  Procopio Promenade 1, Paleto Bay
  Los Santos, SA, 909