Texas DPS Roadcheck 2010 takes 1700 dangerous trucks off the road

More than 1,700 trucks were taken out of commission due to safety violations during the three-day Roadcheck 2010 operation conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Over the three day operation, which ran from June 8 to June 10, DPS troopers checked 6,909 commercial vehicles statewide and 1,738 were taken out of service because safety violations were discovered that required immediate repairs, officials said.

In addition to the trucks, 160 drivers’ licenses were suspended for violations, including not properly tracking hours, and driving with suspended or expired driver licenses.

In just three days officers wrote citations for the following citations to 18-wheeler and other commercial truck drivers:

900 brakes out of adjustment;
702 brake system problems;
322 light malfunctions;
283 tire or wheel issues; and
5 tickets for seat belt violations.

Trucking companies know that their trucks are in violation and pose a danger to other motorists, but to save money, they let them drive anyway. I applaud the DPS officers who participated in this operation to help keep everyone safe, and I sponsor the Truck Safety Coalition in their efforts as well.

Based on the findings in this study, more than one out of every ten commercial vehicles in Texas is driving with faulty brakes. If you have to stop suddenly while driving in front of an 18-wheeler, theres a one in ten chance his brakes will have problems and putting you or your family at risk of severe injuries or death.

If someone is towing 80,000 pounds behind me, I want to know that they will be able to stop without hitting me. Huge tractor trailers are hard to stop even with perfect brakes. When they have bad brakes they’re a threat to everyone.

I represented a woman who was rear ended by a water truck after hitting her brakes to avoid rear ended a stopped car parked in her lane. I sued the trucking company and in the driver’s deposition got him to admit that he was looking down to adjust his radio, and that his truck was 5,000 miles past a required inspection. The case settled for a lot of money shortly after the depositions.

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