Rell orders crackdown on truck companies

After a series of deadly accidents involving trucks, Gov. Rell call for the inspection of truck companies that have poor service records. The real question here is why did it take a series of accidents to finally get something to happen against these truck companies which are allowing unsafe trucks on the roads? It's not like this particular trucking company, American Crushing and Recycling, never had a violation before as the truck in the latest accident in Avon failed inspection several times before.

From the New York Times

Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Monday ordered state inspections of trucking companies with poor safety records after four people died and 20 were injured in a crash here on Friday involving a dump truck with a history of brake violations.

Mrs. Rell directed the State Department of Motor Vehicles to inspect all vehicles owned by American Crushing and Recycling of Bloomfield, which the police say owns the dump truck that careered down Avon Mountain and caused the crash involving 18 cars and a commuter bus. She also ordered inspections of vehicles owned or operated by the 25 trucking companies or individuals with the most vehicle or driver violations in the past three years. Violations must be repaired before a vehicle can return to the road.

[...]

In the past two years, the state found safety violations in 10 of 16 random roadside inspections of trucks owned by American Crushing and Recycling, said Bill Seymour, a spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Truck drivers for the company were ordered off the road twice in that period.

The long-bed dump truck involved in the Avon accident was ordered off the road three times since December 2002 after inspections found safety violations, including problems with its brakes in July 2004 and with its steering last October. Each time, the company certified in writing to state officials that it had repaired the vehicle, Mr. Seymour said.