stepdad was a police officer, and that kind of piqued my interest.” His step- dad’s career may have initially sparked his interest, but once Thompson got started in law enforcement, he says it just suited his personality and desire to help others. “My wife has the same values, more so than I do. Behind every good man there’s a heck of a lot better woman. God just blessed me with being on the right path when I started my career in law enforcement. I’ve worked for and with so many leaders who have helped mold me. I certainly didn’t start out having these opinions and this institutional knowledge. There’s a lot of people to thank, even for how I feel about safety.” He interlaces his fingers before
adding that there are multiple reasons he got to be where he is today, the first being his parents’ impact and then his wife’s support and his faith in God. In addition to the contributions of his family, Thompson is quick to voice his appreciation of support staff and other members of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. “I’m proud of being part of not only the Highway Police but the Highway and Transportation Department. I want that out there,” Thompson said. “The fact that the Highway Police
is a division of the department of trans- portation is very valuable. It’s important because of so many things we do, par- ticularly with the over size and over- weight [permits]. We were created to protect the state’s infrastructure. That’s why we enforce size and weight laws, because we want to protect the infra- structure. That connection, being part of the department of transportation, is key,” he added.
ROLE OF THE HIGHWAY POLICE As the Highway Police are a leader
in motor carrier safety, so too are the transportation companies in Arkansas considered leaders. According to Thompson, “They’re known all over the country for being professional. They don’t just do what’s required of them, they do extra. I’m very proud of being
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from Arkansas, and the reputation that we have is a good one in the transporta- tion industry, in my opinion.” As part of the Arkansas Highway
and Transportation Department, the Highway Police issue oversize and over- weight permits. The Highway Police take the application for the permit, along with a description of the load, what aspect is over the limits, and the origin and destination. Then, they coordinate with the highway department’s bridge and maintenance divisions to find a safe route. “It’s easy to say we’re just going to issue a permit to go from point A to point B, but we’ve got to find out if that load can get from point A to B without being damaged due to hitting a bridge because of its height, or going through a construction zone and hit- ting the barrier walls that have been temporarily set up for the construction job, or hitting construction workers, negotiating around curves or hills and causing accidents for the motoring pub- lic. It’s something we take seriously.” The department is very conscien-
tious about analyzing the routes before they are approved. Though these routes are carefully planned, Thompson says, “Unfortunately, at times, people don’t read the route, or they make a wrong turn and get off route.” Those mistakes can cause something as simple as a traf- fic jam, but they can also cause damage to equipment, infrastructure, or injuries to the public. A recent incident involved a commercial vehicle continuing past the exit listed on their permitted route and becoming stuck between two tem- porary barriers that had been placed for construction. When it’s mentioned, Thompson just shakes his head, main- taining his professional demeanor. “It’s a challenge. We’ve got seven-
teen employees who work daily to com- municate with the companies that are moving these oversized loads and then communicate with the various divisions within the transportation department to make sure that we have every piece of data that we need to make sure that’s a safe route. It’s pretty neat.” Occasionally, there will be a permit
issued that warrants an extra call to be sure the local law enforcement is aware of the coming vehicle. “...We’ll reach out to the local authorities to let them know, hey, this is coming, it’s going to be okay, this is what it is, so they can be prepared for it.”
THE PROBLEM OF TRUCK PARKING Protecting infrastructure for all
travelers and enforcing oversize and overweight rules have always been part of the job. A newer problem is helping commercial drivers abide by hours of service limits and find a place to park when they’ve run out of working hours. Truck parking or lack of sufficient
parking is an issue being faced across the country. While the problem is obvi- ous, the solutions are complex. This isn’t surprising to anyone in In the American
the trucking industry.
Trucking Research Institute’s latest research, ‘managing critical truck park- ing’ ranked as one of the industry’s Top 5 most pressing concerns. In January 2015, Arkansas Trucking
Report reported that Arkansas had an estimated 4,282 truck parking spaces at truck stops, plus 280 offered by the state at rest areas and other locations. Carriers and drivers admitted Arkansas truck parking options are better than most states, and yet there is still not enough. “The department is very aware of the
problem and we’re currently looking at some possibilities to try to alleviate some of that pain, but it’s a nationwide issue. These drivers can only drive for so many hours before they have to have a rest break. We don’t want ’em driving over hours, because they become fatigued, and that’s a serious safety problem.” So serious a problem, in fact, that
several inspection points throughout the state have been turned into areas where the Highway Police allow and encourage commercial vehicle drivers to park and rest. Though that’s a step in the right direction, Thompson is aware more needs to be done, and in fact, the highway department is conduct- ing research to determine what further
Issue 4 2016 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT
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