PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. — Commercial truck drivers and their vehicles on I-64 East in Putnam County are subject to inspections for a couple of days this week.
The Public Service Commission of West Virginia is taking part in International Roadcheck 2019 with inspections of commercial trucks for 72 consecutive hours that started at midnight Tuesday and last until the end of Thursday.
The inspections in the county took place at the Putnam County Weigh Station at mile marker 37.5 just east of Hurricane.
“We are trying to attain compliance within the industry to make sure the vehicles on the road are safe because we all have families traveling the highways,” A.W. Ryan, Motor Carrier Enforcement Officer with the PSC said.
“We are trying to make the highways safer with the ultimate goal of reducing or eradicating crashes and fatalities on the highways.”
Inspectors during the 72-hour check will conduct a Level 1 inspection on drivers and their vehicles including checking driver credentials and a focus on steering and suspension.
“We crawl up and down and around the vehicle. We are looking for everything,” White said. “It’s actually a 37-step process where we are looking for lights, horns, windshields. You name it, if it’s on a truck we are looking to make sure it is in compliance with the rules and regulations.”
According to the PSC of W.Va., officers conducted 592 Level 1 inspections during the 72-hour check in 2018 with 79 of those resulting in the vehicles or drivers being placed out of service.
White said the PSC of W.Va. is giving what they call “no violation inspections” which mean they will give drivers and trucks good reports too if they pass.
Trucks are pulled over randomly as they come through the weight station on the side of the highway.
“If we happen to see something that sticks out obviously we want to flag that vehicle in,” White said. “We are just doing random inspections to check for compliance. It’s what we call an administrative stop. If you are operating in commerce, you’re subject to be checked.”
Inspections are also taking place on I-81 in Martinsburg and I-68 at the Cooper’s Rock Weigh Station near Morgantown.
Approximately 15 trucks per minute in North America, including Mexico and Canada, will be inspected during the 72-hour blitz.