826 trucks were inspected during last month’s Operation Southern Shield, a joint effort between the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The 2-day blitz was set up between the Arizona-New Mexico border and the Maricopa-Pinal County Line.
Operation Southern Shield focused on commercial driver’s logbooks looking for hours of service violations.
Other areas of focus were to educate both commercial drivers as well as other motorists. This opportunity will help inform people as to the blind spots and other hazards as they relate to commercial trucks.
As a result of the blitz, 109 drivers were taken out of service for HOS violations and 44 trucks were taken out of service for equipment violations, Arizona Central reported.
In 2011, 759 trucks were inspected. Of those, 80 drivers and 73 commercial trucks were placed out of service. In 2012, 792 trucks were inspected leading to 119 drivers being placed out of service as well as 63 commercial trucks.