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Semi on I-64 pulling into weigh station
Cracked brake drum on semi
Vise grips holding push rod
Cracked springs on hazardous materials tanker
Excessive wear on semi tire
Excessive wear with tread separation
Sgt. Morris at the KSP weigh station in Shelbyville.
Semi on I-64 pulling into weigh station
Cracked brake drum on semi
Vise grips holding push rod
Cracked springs on hazardous materials tanker
Excessive wear on semi tire
Excessive wear with tread separation
LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Thousands of semis can be described as a ticking time bomb on Kentucky interstates. From brakes to tires, alignment, weight limits and more, Kentucky State Police inspectors find thousands of violations every year on commercial vehicles.
“I've found axles that have no brakes at all," said Sgt. Jason Morris with KSP’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. "The actual brake assembly is gone. We have them to where they're out of adjustment. We have them to where they're cracked to the point where they're not able to function. And we have them to where when the driver applies that brake pedal, nothing happens at all.”
While that sounds bad, some violations are even worse. Tools like vice grips or wrenches are sometimes found to be holding things in place to get around fixing a problem.
“Those are some very egregious violations,' Morris said. "When you see that, a driver is then very aware that that is there, that it exists. He knows the dangers of what he's doing."
KSP has regional Commercial Vehicle Enforcement facilities — or weigh stations — around the state. Trucks can't weigh more than 80,000 pounds unless they have a special permit. If they weigh more, they'll be flagged for an inspection. But some are also picked randomly to be inspected.
Recently, a major issue was found on a tanker carrying hazardous materials.
Sgt. Morris at the KSP weigh station in Shelbyville.
“These springs are supposed to look like a smiley face," Morris said, pointing to a picture. "And if you can tell, they're not smiling anymore. They've actually been broken in half. And what this does is it doesn't allow this vehicle to move."
So when turning, he said the tanker could flip and lead to a hazardous materials spill.
Morris said inspectors also find a lot of tire violations. Those include tire treads smoothed down revealing the metal cords and also tread separation on a tire.
“We do see it more than what we'd like,” he said.
Last year in Kentucky, 56,000 violations were handed out. That put 11,000 vehicles and drivers out of service. In the past five years in the state, 388,000 violations were found, and more than 79,000 vehicles and drivers had to be taken out of service.
KSP said you should be cautious when driving next to a semi, and always keep a lot of space between you, because you never know if one of those commercial vehicles has a major safety violation.
“We need these drivers out here," Morris said. "They're the ones that move the country for us. But we also want to keep everyone safe in doing that. And the drivers that are out here that are not doing that, those are the ones we're really trying to pull of the roadway, just because it keeps everyone safe."
Thousands of trucks go through weigh stations every day, but not every truck has to pass through. Companies can pay to bypass them, but only if they have a good safety record.
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