MDOT conducting 72-hour road check on trucks and truckers

FULTON, Miss. (WCBI) – The Mississippi Department of Transportation is participating in a three-day blitz to make sure trucks and truckers are up to code.

MDOT officers are in the middle of the International 72-hour road check.

Officers are looking at everything under the hood.

But the goal isn’t more citations, it’s fewer accidents.

All 18-wheeler drivers traveling on I-22 in Itawamba County should plan for at least one stop.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation is requiring trucks to participate in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s International 72-hour Road Check.

“We are out here to make sure that these trucks are safe so your families are safe driving next to these trucks,” said MDOT Captain David Gist.

Gist makes sure all vehicles meet weight requirements.

If a truck exceeds the weight limit, that’s when Gist and his officers begin a 37-step examination.

“We pull them into the pit around back and that’s when we go under the trucks and start checking for brakes, steering and suspension aspects,” said Gist.

Officers also check exhaust systems, tires, and tractor load.

Drivers are parked until those violations are fixed.

“If we can take an unsafe truck off the road or get those violations fixed then those chances of those mechanical failures is reduced to almost nothing,” said Gist.

Truck driver Randy Toodle was traveling through North Mississippi when he learned his rig didn’t meet requirements.

“It’s a necessity they have to do that. They might catch something that we can’t catch,” said Tootle.

And it’s not just the trucks getting the once over. Officers are also checking the drivers.

“We engage in conversation with them, get their bills, paperwork on the tractors, their drivers license and while we’re engaging with them we can determine if they’re under any kind of influence,” said Gist.

Gist said the annual safety road check helps prevent crashes and fatalities on his roads.

The final day of the Commercial Roadcheck is scheduled for June 6.