Cargo CATS Put To Sleep
A highly successful cargo theft program in Los Angeles has fallen victim to budget cuts.
The Cargo CATS program, which has recovered an estimated $18 million worth of stolen freight, trucks and trailers in the last year alone, has been eliminated, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Sheriff Lee Baca recommended eliminating the unit as part of a number of cuts under pressure from the county Board of Supervisors to slash $60 million from his budget. The unit costs the department about $1.5 million a year.
"I'm shocked that this is happening, because of the void it will create," Sgt. Jim LeBlanc, who has been assigned to the unit for eight years, told the paper.
Southern California, thanks in part to its role as the nation's busiest port complex, is a hotbed of cargo theft. Since its inception in 1990, Cargo CATS has been responsible for 1,150 felony arrests and the recovery of an estimated $176 million in stolen items. It has served as a model for similar cargo theft task forces around the country.
AAA: CAR DRIVERS NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE AROUND TRUCKS
A study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety confirmed what truckers have been saying for years: Car drivers are most often to blame for crashes involving a car and a big rig.
The foundation's analysis of fatal crash data found that driver errors, by both car and truck drivers, account for more than half of fatal car-truck crashes — 54%.
"Motorists don't recognize that trucks behave very differently from cars, so they think trucks can stop on a dime and change lanes quickly," said J. Peter Kissinger, CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
In response to the study results, AAA announced a nationwide campaign to educate drivers about ways to reduce crashes involving cars and trucks. As part of its campaign, AAA is re-launching its "Share With Care" program that offers practical advice to car and truck drivers on ways to avoid truck/car crashes.
Washington Report continued...
