More Trucks Failing County Inspections

Since 1995, Sgt. Richard Noble has been crawling and sliding underneath dump trucks and tractor-trailers as an inspector for the Prince William County Motor Carrier Safety Unit. But lately, he's been branding more trucks unfit for the road.

Early last month, his unit and Virginia State Police inspected 1,559 commercial motor vehicles along Route 1 and Interstate 95 and other locations in Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun counties as part of an annual joint program. They placed 24.5 percent of the vehicles out of service for violating regulations set forth by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, an international standards agency for the industry. The national average for vehicles placed out of service for the first half of this year is 19.9 percent, according to CVSA data.

In Prince William, 25 percent of vehicles inspected this year have been placed out of service, up from 19 percent the previous two years, according to county data.

Tough economic times might have forced drivers to abandon necessary truck repairs, Noble said. Generally, inspectors look for mechanical and maintenance problems, including inoperable brakes or lamps, improperly secured loads and fuel leaks.

"Guys are trying to squeeze more time on roads," Noble said. "With fuel costs what they are, that's a big cut. 'Do I push the limit on my brakes to make the money to pay my bills?' I think a lot of guys are making that choice."

Commercial motor vehicles include those that are more than 10,000 pounds and are involved in interstate commerce; are more than 26,000 pounds; or are transporting a reportable quantity of hazardous materials.

Repair shops have also noticed the trend. Truck Enterprises in Manassas services the large trucks that qualify as commercial motor vehicles. Compared with previous years, Service Manager Dan Tice said, business has been down.

Gene Fries, owner of Fries Garage, another Manassas auto repair shop, agreed. "People are running it until it won't run any further because people don't have the money to repair them," Fries said.

Traditionally, the local number of violations has been higher than national figures, Noble said, because of the concentration of construction in the county.

One of Noble's most memorable inspections was of a packed truck hauling pigs about six or seven years ago. To inspect the brakes, Noble had to slip underneath.

"Imagine standing next to a pigpen," he said. "I was very careful to not get into the drip zone. We've had some interesting catches out here."

One of the biggest problems is repeat offenders, Noble said. If drivers don't fix their violations, their trucks can be placed out of service for that, too, Noble said. Lately, there have been more driver violations such as operating a vehicle with a suspended license or driving beyond their hours, he said.

"Guys are trying to do more with less," Noble said. But drivers avoiding repairs or rest make for the need to get those trucks out of service. While doing inspections, Noble has had motorists -- and drivers -- thank him and his crew for their work.

"We want to bring them back into compliance so they're operating safely on the road out here," Noble said. "If we can minimize the number of violators out there, we can make it safer for everyone."