MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (WTNH) – State police are working to reduce highway crashes by cracking down on trucks skipping safety checks. 

News 8’s Jayne Chacko did a ride along with police to see the problem firsthand. 

State Trooper Joshua McElroy is in the Connecticut State Police Traffic Services Unit. With grants provided through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), state police and the DMV’s Commercial Safety Division are able to focus on inspecting trucks regularly. 

“If I do inspections every single day, I could probably find close to a hundred violations in a week,” said McElroy. 

Troopers are looking for commercial motor vehicles that are not in compliance with the FMCSA regulations. Violations include driving log compliance, speeding, broken headlights, loose cargo and skipping weigh stations. 

There are weigh stations in Greenwich, Danbury, Middletown, Union and Waterford. When a weigh station is open, every commercial truck is required to come through and drive onto the scales. Troopers are alerted to vehicles that have acceptations. 

For full size tractor trailers, federal law limits weight to 80,000 pounds. 

“If there is an unsafe truck that loses its breaks or is too heavy, can’t stop in time, hits a passenger car, it’s a bad day for everybody,” he said. “Now there’s how many other thousands of trucks that aren’t going to get their deliveries done on time because the highway is shut down and we have to do an investigation.” 

State troopers can issue tickets to drivers that skip the weigh station. It costs about $400 for the first offense, $850 for the second. 

State police also want to remind drivers if you see police on the side of the road, safely move over and give them room to work.