SAFETY STATISTICS * USA / Wyoming - Frackwater truck safety effort helps

Average number of citations for every 10 vehicles inspected fell dramatically from last fall

Cheyenne,Wyoming -The Times Leader, by STEVE MOCARSKY -April 8, 2011: -- Efforts to educate truckers working in the Marcellus Shale industry seem to have paid off, with fewer traffic safety citations being issued and fewer trucks being ordered off the road...   Data provided by Pennsylvania State Police on Operation FracNET found that the frequency of safety violations for trucks hauling wastewater from natural gas drilling operations decreased since October 2010... The wastewater, a by-product of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is heavy in salts and contains trace amounts of toxic chemicals. Fracking involves injecting millions of gallons of water into the shale to fracture it and release the natural gas inside... Trooper Tom Kelly, of state police Troop P in Wyoming, attributes the decrease in violations to a number of factors including a willingness of trucking companies and their drivers working in the shale industry to attend seminars offered by the state police and familiarize themselves with state motor vehicle requirements... Troop P issued an average of 20 citations for every 10 trucks inspected in September and an average of 23.6 citations for every 10 trucks inspected in October but only 4.4 citations for every 10 trucks inspected in March...(Photo from blog.fleetowner)