The North Carolina Highway Patrol issued nearly $10 million in fines to commercial truck drivers in 2024 thanks to its Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.
The MCSAP is a specialized unit within the NCHP to ensure the more than 15 million commercial vehicles that pass through the state each year are doing so safely. The team of 89 troopers conducted more than 100,000 CMV inspections in 2024, complete with more than 32,000 violations and nearly $10 million in fines.
The money collected from the CMV violations goes to the state’s Department of Public Instruction, which funds the public school system, but Troopers say that the endeavor is more personal than that.
“Somebody’s family is riding next to that truck,” said Trooper Scott Baker of the MCSAP to WRAL. “Routinely, we see violations going down the road where the equipment is broken, falling off, dangerous. Anything from mechanical stuff to hazardous materials, leaks, stuff like that…There’s countless, unfortunately, memories of things going wrong.”
“I think about my kids, I think about my loved ones, my parents,” said Travis Ingold of the MCSAP. “It [CMV enforcement] is personal. From the standpoint of we want to keep everyone safe. Whether it’s our family or their family, we want to keep everyone safe.”
According to WSOC 9, in addition to the MCSAP citations, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina alone has issued more than 2,600 parking tickets for truck drivers in 2024, and increased the fine from $25 to $100.