As of Tuesday, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers intensified inspections on both commercial and personal vehicles, as part of the three-day nationwide campaign Roadcheck 2016.
“We’re looking for all violations of the law, whether it be their brakes or their tires,” Texas state trooper Robbie Barrera said. “Just making sure that when they are traveling on the highway that they are doing it safely.”
Barrera said DPS set up designated check points across the state, checking for equipment violations involving brakes, tires, lights and loading standards.
“We don’t want to see anyone broke down on the side of the road,” Barrera said, “or ultimately involved in a crash due to not maintaining a tire and then have a blow out.”
If vehicles fail the test, DPS said troopers are writing tickets, and in some cases putting drivers out of service.
“We want to make sure that the tires on there are safe, don’t have any cracks or their thread is the proper height,” Barrera said. “If not, we are out here to get voluntary compliance, but we are out here writing tickets also.”
This is the third year that DPS has participated in this campaign. In 2015, DPS and other Texas law enforcement agencies participating in Roadcheck inspected 7,865 commercial vehicles. According to DPS, approximately 22 percent of the vehicles inspected had serious violations that required the vehicle to be placed out of service, and also placed 212 drivers out of service for various violations.
DPS said while troopers are mainly targeting commercial vehicles, they are also on the lookout for personal vehicles. Barrera said the number one mistake drivers make is not getting their vehicles properly and professionally inspected before going on a road trip.
AAA projects this summer will be the busiest season on record for drivers in Texas.
