Loudoun Truck Inspector Discusses Safety Issues at Congressional Briefing

Senior Deputy Chris Rizzo Inspects a tractor-trailer in 2009

Loudoun County, VA: A member of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Motor Carrier Safety Inspection Team was in Washington, DC February 3, 2010 for a Congressional Briefing Session on truck sizes and weights.

Loudoun County Senior Deputy Chris Rizzo was asked to be a part of the panel to discuss if the weights and sizes of trucks traveling on our interstates are safe for motorists. The briefing was held by Congressman James McGovern of Massachusetts.

Rizzo, who has been a truck safety inspector for twenty years, along with three other full-time members of the Sheriff’s Office Motor Carrier Safety Inspection Team are responsible for detecting and inspecting unsafe commercial motor vehicles. Members of this team have received certification from the Federal Department of Transportation to perform these duties.

In 2009, the team conducted 1,907 truck inspections and took 969 of those trucks out of service; a 50% failure rate. A total of 7,995 safety violations were issued with citations totaling 132,565.20 in overweight fines. A majority of the violations were for defects in braking systems and unqualified drivers. Other violations included defects in tires, steering systems and cracked frames.

Posted by Charles Penifore on Feb 14 2010. Filed under Loudoun County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry