RELL GETS TOUGH WITH UNSAFE TRUCKERS:

State inspectors cracking down on trucking companies in the wake of a deadly crash in Avon in July mistakenly skipped thousands of interstate carriers, including some with troubling safety records.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell told the Department of Motor Vehicles to target the 25 state trucking companies with the worst driver and vehicle safety records, but the only companies that made the list were those that operate within Connecticut. The agency ignored companies that cross state lines because officials mistakenly thought that’s what Rell wanted, The Hartford Courant reported. Inspectors skipped nearly 9,000 Connecticut-based interstate carriers.

Rich Harris, a spokesman for Rell, said she never intended the DMV to focus only on companies that operate within Connecticut. She has since repeated her order to review all truckers including those operating interstate.

The July 29 crash, which killed four people, was triggered by an out-of-control dump truck that barreled down Route 44. Police have not yet determined the cause.

“This is an all-out, long-term effort to get dangerous vehicles off of state roads, and I will not relent,” Rell said.

For the majority of intrastate trucking companies that were reviewed, company vehicles were taken out of service until repairs and re-inspections were performed. If a truck that has been taken out of service is discovered out on the roads, the driver’s commercial driver’s license can be revoked, the driver can be fined $2,500 and the carrier can be fined $10,000.

Topics Trucking Connecticut