Texas: 26.5% of "Roadchecked" Commercial Vehicles Put Out of Service

During the recent Roadcheck 2011 program, the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) along with other Texas law enforcement agencies inspected 7,993 commercial vehicles. After the inspection, 26.5% of the vehicles were put out of service for safety violations.

TX DPS Commercial Vehicle Enforcement troopers, noncommissioned inspectors, specially trained Highway Patrol troopers and officers from other agencies inspected vehicles, safety equipment, driver log books, driver licenses and CDL endorsements.

2.6 percent of the drivers (212) were put out of service for reasons such as improper hour tracking and driving with suspended, expired or canceled licenses. Four drivers were put out of service for drug and alcohol infractions. Troopers issued 17 tickets for seat belt violations.

Of the 7,993 vehicles inspected, 26.5% were put out of service until the proper repairs or fixes can be made for safety violations that may include issues with the braking systems, tires, lights and safe loading.

The annual Roadcheck program, sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is designed to reduce commercial vehicle-related highway accidents through increased vehicle safety. The CVSA has reported a significant decrease in commercial-vehicle-related accidents since the program was introduced in 1988.

Vehicles that passed the inspection are issued a CVSA decal exempting them from inspection for a 90-day period, unless they have an obvious safety defect. Troopers were able to issue 2,515 decals during this year's Roadcheck.

Labels: commercial drivers license, commercial vehicle inspection, roadcheck, texas cdl, texas dps, tx dps