Gov. Mark Schweiker made an impassioned call for tougher measures Wednesday to get tailgating truckers and aggressive drivers off Pennsylvania roads.

At a truck safety symposium in Carlisle, the governor outlined several initiatives aimed at increasing truck inspections and fines for all drivers operating recklessly in highway construction zones.

He spoke of how his own personal experiences on the road have made him aware of the need for safer driving on the part of both truckers and motorists.

Schweiker recalled an episode several years back of a truck driver tailgating his own car in a "cattle chute" lane in a work zone on a Pennsylvania highway that he declined to name. The driver bore the rig down within a foot or two of the car's bumper -- a maneuver that alarmed Schweiker even though no accident resulted.

"Have you been out there on a Sunday night when the rigs are really rolling?" he asked the audience.

"They are tailgating Pennsylvania drivers and visitors to Pennsylvania. It creates a bad impression of a travel experience in Pennsylvania. It's happened way too often. It's happened to this governor."

Schweiker said the state needs to revise the motor vehicle code to make it easier to enforce laws against vehicles following too closely.

Michael Ryan, a PennDOT deputy secretary, said state law generally provides that drivers should stay one car length behind a vehicle for every 10 mph.

Traveling at 50 mph, that translates to five car lengths or 125 feet.

He said PennDOT is trying to increase driver awareness about maintaining a safe distance. The agency has marked large dots on the pavement of Interstate 80 in Stroudsburg and installed signs urging motorists to stay two dots apart.

"Thus far, the result has been very positive," added Ryan.