Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/596928
30 | Overdrive | November 2015 C ompared to its neighboring state to the north, Virginia might seem like an inspec- tion slouch. Maryland, No. 1 in Overdrive's inspection-in- tensity rankings of inspection volume per mile of roadway, conducts almost four times the number of annual inspections. Virginia ranks toward the middle of the pack at No. 21 for inspection intensity. But a closer look at Virginia reveals a profi le similar to its northern brethren near the top of the violations-per-inspection rankings. Virginia's 66 dedicated enforce- ment personnel are laser-focused on vehi- cle violations, particularly those involving braking systems, and they're not shy about issuing them. "Our guys knock out a lot of Level 1 inspections," says Lt. Ron Maxey of the Virginia State Police, lead offi cer over the truck inspection program. Level 1 is the highest and most complete inspection level of both the truck and driver. Maxey reveals something of an old- school approach that de-emphasizes newfangled technology such as the perfor- mance-based brake testers (PBBTs) used in Georgia, Tennessee and elsewhere in the Southeast. Instead, Virginia inspectors are "inside a pit or on their backs on a creeper measuring those brakes," Maxey says. However, the state has increased its use of infrared imaging systems in screening trucks at its fi xed facilities, he says. The so-called "IRIS" systems make it easier to identify cold or overheated brakes that in- dicate potential mechanical problems, and they also provide a possible explanation for a marked rise in Virginia's percentage of brake violations since 2011. The state con- ducted 43 percent of its 2014 inspections at fi xed facilities. Dedicated full time to truck enforcement CSA's DATA TRAIL STANDOUT STATES Virginia "Our guys knock out a lot A no-frills approach to inspections puts Virginia near the top for maintenance violations BY TODD DILLS No breaks for brakes