“The primary unit that’s responsible for monitoring the safety & equipment of all commercial vehicles [traveling down Virginia highways],” Sgt. Steve Lowe responded sternly. The storied officer had been asked to inform the world who the Virginia Motor Carrier Safety Unit was and his answer – like his policing – was apt.
The 65-man unit conducts rigorous inspections on every – and we mean EVERY – commercial vehicle they find on a Virginia highway. In fact, according to the Virginia State Police website, these troopers also make time to instruct at criminal justice academies and deliver lectures on road safety to the general public. Who would have thought that community policing and road safety could go hand in hand, right?
When the Motor Carrier Safety Unit isn’t educating their community, they go above and beyond to safeguard commercial vehicle operations in and around their state. That starts with how they execute the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 37-step inspection procedure. Sergeant Lowe describes it as “a very dirty and a very serious process” needed to protect all Virginia motorists.
He even doubled down on its necessity by stating that “all of us in our daily lives travel and interact [with]… commercial vehicles on the highway. So, it’s absolutely critical that we try to make these vehicles as safe as possible while they’re on the highway.” Well, Sergeant Lowe must have meant what he said. Soon after, the Motor Carrier Safety Unit carried out its duties in grand fashion.
In a 3-day commercial vehicle safety operation, the MCSU ramped up inspections across the following counties: Buchanan, Tazewell, Bland, Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Bedford, Botetourt and Rockbridge. The Southwest Virginia Blitz, as it came to be known, saw the inspection of 341 commercial vehicles from May 4th through May 6th.
According to WDBJ7, the inspections resulted in “a total of 603 equipment and driver violations being cited, 49 commercial vehicles being placed out of service and 19 drivers being placed out of service.”
To quote Capt. R.C. Maxey Jr., Commander of the Virginia State Police Safety Division, “The results of this enforcement initiative are indicative of the extraordinary efforts our Motor Carrier Safety Unit Troopers put forth every day, as they work across the Commonwealth to improve passenger and commercial motor vehicle safety on our highways.”
The threat that an equipment violation on a truck could pose to human life is daunting. We all know that. With every chilling crash comes an inspection revealing a truck that was rife with equipment violations. With PR Newswire stating that the global commercial vehicles market will exceed 27 million units by 2026, perhaps stringent safety inspections on trucks are the best thing for all of us moving forward.
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Source: Virginia State Police, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, WDBJ7, BDotOnline, PR Newswire
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