PHOENIX (CBS5) -
CBS 5 News rode along with an officer with the Department of Public Safety Monday to get a firsthand look at what the officers on the road do to watch for impaired commercial truck drivers.
Officer Austin Eckhardt hits the state's highways for hours every day, "It could be up to a 100 miles a day," he said.
He knows the importance of truck drivers and said, "In a way they are what keep America moving."
But Eckhardt also knows how dangerous it could be if a driver were high on methamphetamine or cocaine. He is part of a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau with DPS and is trained to watch the big rigs that we all share the road with.
On the highway Monday, he showed a CBS 5 news crews just by driving by a trucker he can look for equipment violations, moving violations and he keeps a close eye out for illegal drug use.
"Some of these drivers use specific drugs to fight their fatigue and stay awake behind the wheel," said Eckhardt.
He said the average commercial truck weighs approximately 80,000 pounds and when it is traveling about 60 mph, it would take the length of a football field for it to stop.
Karen Rasmussen with the Arizona Trucking Association said it is required by law for truck drivers to go through regular drug testing including one test before they are hired, random testing through the year and a test if the driver is involved in an accident.
"My first reaction is it's unfortunate," said Rasmussen when she heard the news from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, "We have had very few incidents of truck drivers found operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol."
Rasmussen said DPS statistics show that in 2011, there were a total of 1,991 truck crashes statewide. Drug or alcohol impairment was determined to be a factor in 35 of them, which is .017 percent.
Just one driver on drugs could be the difference between life and death
"As with every stop, it's dangerous, you never know what you are going to run into," said Eckhardt.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Officer Austin Eckhardt during ride along on the I-10 Monday
