This morning, CHP personnel with the assistance of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department successfully deployed a commercial vehicle inspection strike force within the city limits of Palm Desert. The strike force resulted in numerous inspections of commercial vehicles, with several of those placed out-of-service for various violations.
At approximately 7:30 am, commercial Mobile Enforcement Officer’s, or MRE’s, with the CHP Desert Hills Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility set up an inspection lane on southbound Monterey Avenue just north of Gerald Ford Drive.
According to CHP Officer Joe Zagorski, the officers had the purpose of "inspecting, enforcing and educating commercial drivers who frequently commute the city streets".
With assistance from the Riverside Sheriff’s Department, officers inspected 28 commercial vehicles while deployed at the Palm Desert location. During the course of those inspections, officers noted 24 separate violations. They ranged from improper load securement, defective tires, to driver’s operating a commercial vehicle while unlicensed for that particular vehicle. In all, four commercial vehicles were placed out-of-service until a properly licensed driver was provided for the vehicle, or the faulty equipment was repaired.
Lieutenant Laura Quattlebaum, who assumes command of the CHP’s Indio Area on August 31, 2012, and current commander of the Desert Hills facility, deemed the strike force a huge success.
“Unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers were taken off of our city streets this morning due to the hard work of our commercial officers," Quattlebaum said.
"This is one tool the CHP and its allied agency partners can use to reduce the incidence of commercial vehicle collisions and prevent the needless loss of life that inevitably occurs in these horrific crashes.”
Lieutenant Quattlebaum insists these types of strike forces will continue in the future.
