POSTED: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 10:29pm
UPDATED: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 12:28pm
TYLER - Jessie Matthews is a truck driver making his way through East Texas. He's one of thousands across the state who has to get weighed while hauling their load.
The Department of Public Safety recently conducted inspection of nearly 8-thousand trucks and passenger buses, and found that more than 25-percent of the trucks inspected, failed. They failed reports say on issues like brakes, tires, and safety violations.
Matthews says, "there's a lot of trucks out there that need to be shut down but you know some people give it all they got, all the effort to try to stay rolling out here you know."
Once the D.P.S. finds a problem with a truck, Matthews says, they're pulled off the road, and the problem has to be fixed.
"They can put you out of service and you'll have to call a mechanic to fix right then and there."
Some don't share the D.P.S.'s concern on trucker regulations. One East Texan tells KETK, "I think they could probably utilize their time chasing somebody else instead of somebody trying to make a living."
Mathews says he knows the dangers of a truck that isn't well maintained, and even though the inspections can be an inconvenience, he says the law is the law.
"All I can say is hey keep your truck intact, keep stuff working on it and make sure it's safe out on the road."