Evaluation Plan for the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) Program in Kentucky [2009]

Green, Eric R. · 2009 · ROSA P / University of Kentucky Transportation Center

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This report evaluates the effectiveness of the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) program, an 18-month pilot initiative conducted by the Kentucky State Police and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The primary objective was to reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes by altering driver behavior around large trucks through a combination of public education, media campaigns, and targeted enforcement. The study focused on two high-crash interstate corridors: I-75 in northern Kentucky and I-65 in the Louisville area. The evaluation employed three distinct methodologies to measure changes in public awareness, driver behavior, and roadway safety: telephone surveys, video observations of traffic, and crash data analysis. Public awareness was assessed via telephone surveys conducted before and during the campaign. Statistical analysis revealed significant changes in respondent behavior; more drivers reported leaving more space when passing trucks and not following as closely. Additionally, a significantly higher proportion of respondents reported seeing or hearing about the campaign through radio and road signs. Video surveys analyzed 17,021 vehicles across five phases to measure tailgating and cut-off events. The data indicated that larger vehicles consistently leave more space around trucks than smaller vehicles, and all vehicle types maintain greater following distances behind trucks than behind other vehicles. However, the video data did not provide conclusive evidence of a sustained change in driver behavior over the year, with fluctuations in tailgating distances potentially influenced by weather conditions and the presence of enforcement officers. Crash analysis compared CMV-related crash rates in the study areas before the campaign (2004–2007) and during the campaign (2007–2008) against control sections. The study found an 11.83% reduction in crash rates in the TACT corridors during the campaign period, compared to a 5.52% reduction in control sections. This suggests that the crash reduction in the study areas was twice as significant as the background trend, indicating a correlation between the TACT enforcement and awareness efforts and improved safety outcomes. Furthermore, a sign evaluation confirmed that the TACT informational signage was legible and understandable to drivers within adequate recognition distances. The report concludes that while video data showed mixed results regarding behavioral changes, the significant disparity in crash rate reductions supports the program's effectiveness in enhancing roadway safety.

Key finding

Crash rates in the TACT study areas decreased by 11.83 percent compared to a 5.52 percent reduction in control sections, while telephone surveys confirmed increased public awareness and self-reported behavioral changes regarding following distance.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Sample size: 1315

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• incidence prevalence

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes