CHP SAYS TRUCKS NOT AT FAULT IN MOST CRASHES ON HIGHWAY.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Daily News Staff Writer

Despite the public perception that trucks are the primary cause of traffic problems on Highway 118, motorists speeding in their cars are more of a concern, officials say.

Only seven of the 240 citations issued by the California Highway Patrol between Jan. 13 and March 11 were given to truckers, said Capt. Richard Owen.

And of 19 crashes during the same period, just four involved trucks. And only one of those truck crashes involved another vehicle.

In fact, Owen said, speeding motorists are more hazardous because they get might get stuck behind slow-moving trucks and take out their frustration on the road.

``I am not here to defend the trucking industry, but the trucks are just a small percentage of the problem out there,'' said Owen, the top CHP officer in Ventura County. ``People get in a hurry and get frustrated.''

Of the 240 citations issued early in the year by the CHP, 81 were for speeding, 17 were for unsafe passing and 72 were for seat-belt violations.

The 16-mile stretch of narrow highway was the scene of 771 crashes, including 12 involving fatalities, between 1993 and 1998, according to the California Department of Transportation. No one has died on the highway this year.

Owens' comments came in the wake of Tuesday's meeting of the Highway 118 Safety Task Force, at which he detailed the CHP's stepped up patrols and publicity efforts to reduce crashes on the highway. The road connects the county's east and west areas and daily carries between 12,900 and 19,300 vehicles, including thousands of trucks.

The stepped-up effort is funded by an $89,000 grant that pays overtime for officers, as well as for radar guns and publicity materials.

At the safety meeting, Shirley Micarelli of the California Trucking Association said many car drivers travel recklessly on the highway, not using turn signals and not giving trucks the space they need when making right-hand turns.

``There seems to be this negative rage against trucks,'' she said.

Owen said he sympathizes with Moorpark residents who have expressed frustration about truck congestion along Los Angeles Avenue, the section of Highway 118 that passes through the city.