The Iowa Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Enforcement shared video to remind truckers of the importance of doing regular pre-trip inspections.
In a September 29 Facebook post, Iowa DOT shared video of a truck’s upper coupler assembly that was “all but destroyed” by rust and cracks.
Officers said that they noticed that something was amiss with the semi truck pulled into a weigh station “leaning dramatically to the right side of the trailer…vehicle weight was not a problem.”
A quick inspection revealed that “the upper coupler (apron plate) was totally crushed and had caved over the fifth wheel lower coupler. The trailers annual inspection was expired by a year and have serious doubts a pre-trip inspection was completed in quite a while.”
“Please do your part, do your pre-trips and inspections…take nothing for granted. A big thanks to those professionals that do!” Iowa DOT said.