Trucks in Florida are the target of an enforcement operation now under way, the state’s Highway Patrol said in a statement.

The operation, the second half of what the patrol calls “Operation Safe Ride,” involves a stepped-up effort to enforce commercial vehicle regulations, including citing, or in some cases, arresting those whose violations, the patrol said, put the public at risk.

"Based on an increasing number of complaints we have received from the public concerning commercial vehicle traffic violations, as well as a number of significant crashes involving large trucks, our troopers are being directed to strongly focus their collective enforcement efforts on commercial vehicle violations,” Col. Chris Knight, Director of the Florida Highway Patrol, said in a statement.

The patrol said the first phase of Operation Safe Rideoccurred Feb. 26 and 27, when troopers targeted aggressive drivers and incidents of road rage throughout the state. The patrol said that effort was also spurred by driver complaints.

The current effort, which was scheduled for May 13 and 14, will include all available Highway Patrol personnel – not only troopers, but also supervisors who are normally assigned to non-patrol functions.

The patrol statement indicated the effort would focus on aggressive driving by commercial motor vehicle operators. Officers will use radar, Vascar, video cameras, motorcycles, unmarked patrol vehicles and aircraft during daylight hours.

The Highway Patrol has focused more on commercial vehicles in recent years, increasing the number of citations on those vehicles from roughly 11,000 in 2001 to more than 14,000 last year, WPLG television reported.