Amid complaints, police increase patrols for aggressive dump trucks

 Following ongoing complaints from residents regarding aggressive dump-truck drivers, the Winter Garden Police Department is making changes to the way it patrols the area near Stoneybrook West Parkway and Marsh Road. 

“The complaints are that they’re driving at high speeds and that they are using the left lane to go straight across the intersection instead of using the proper lane,” Lt. Scott Allen said. “We’ve gone out and worked on enforcing it in order to try to reduce it. It’s just very difficult when you’re dealing with commercial vehicles, because they seem to communicate about what’s going on, so we get out there and start working, but they very quickly know that we’re out there and they slow down and start doing the right thing until we leave.”

To compensate, WGPD recently partnered with the Florida Highway Patrol for assistance.

A local dump-truck driver, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, believes the blame does not fall solely on the dump-truck drivers.

“There’s a lot of people complaining about truck drivers, and I don’t think it’s fair,” he said. “They should look at themselves also, because I see a lot of cars and SUVs driving a little aggressively on the road in that area.”

“The area that this is happening in is one of our target areas anyhow, not just for the dump trucks; it’s just been a target area for speeding vehicles. So we’ve been out there for a while, but the dump trucks have been a more recent issue that has been brought to our attention.”

— Lt. Scott Allen

The WGPD has marked the area as a target area given the frequency of speeding vehicles.

“The area that this is happening in is one of our target areas anyhow, not just for the dump trucks,” Allen said.

The truck driver said the dump trucks are in the area because drivers are hauling dirt to Interstate 4. He also said the area was a truck route years ago before a community was built around it. 

Some residents, such as Lisa McWhirter, who lives on Stoneybrook West Parkway, said she understands why the dump trucks are there but wishes a few changes could be made to quell the problem.

“I understand that the trucks are needed in order to haul materials used for all the construction going on,” McWhirter wrote in a Facebook message. “It would be great if they could avoid the roads during the main traffic hours of rush hour and school zone times.”

Jennifer Johnston, a 12-year Winter Garden resident, said she recognizes truck drivers aren’t solely to blame but stressed the added danger.

“The problem is magnified when these trucks are involved because of the sheer size, the weight of the vehicle and the damage it could cause, including loss of life,” she said.

The truck driver said a few bad truck drivers have sullied the reputation for all of them.

“There’s a minority in our industry ... (who) are driving aggressively,” he said. “It’s always the minority that ruins it for the majority.”

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]