DMV Launches Truck-Safety Effort

Today, the DMV launches a three-day annual truck-safety enforcement and education blitz around the state as part of Roadcheck 2011, an international activity taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

DMV Commercial Vehicle Safety Division enforcement officers, along with state police, will be placing additional emphasis in key points around the state on commercial truck and motor coach (commercial bus) safety. These areas include Route 84, Interstates 95, 91, 395 and 384.

Enforcement officers will also be using weigh stations as well as the state's two casinos to undertake their inspection and enforcement actions.

"We want truck and bus company operators, and the drivers of their vehicles, to know that safety is a top priority in Connecticut," said DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey. "On the spot we will put out of service vehicles we find that are in violation of the critical safety regulations and laws," she said in a press release.

DMV truck safety enforcement officers have a lengthy checklist that can take up to an hour to complete. Included in officers’ checks are:

• Proper tires.
• Safely functioning brakes.
• Systems for securing a load so that it stays in place while being transported.
• Working lights.
• Whether a driver has exceed the number of hours allowed for driving.
• Whether a driver is fatigued.
• Properly completed log books.
• Conformance with height and weight requirements for the vehicle.

Vehicles failing in major categories of the checklist will be placed out of service. This means that the vehicle must either be towed from the inspection site or fixed there before it legally can be driven again.

Roving DMV and state police enforcement will be part of the Roadcheck 2011 effort in Connecticut.  The aim of the program is to raise awareness about the need for truck safety on the nation’s roads and to educate drivers and their companies about safety requirements.