Texas Troopers Only Pull over a Small Percentage of Eagle Ford Shale 18-Wheelers

On Behalf of | Jul 5, 2012 | Truck Accidents |

As Joe Conger reports for KENS 5 San Antonio, Texas state troopers are cracking down on Eagle Ford Shale 18-wheelers, putting them out-of-service for safety violations like improper truck maintenance and truck driver hours-of-service violations.

“A lot of companies don’t like to see us out here,” said one trooper, who looks for improperly loaded cargo and weight violations, among other things.

As Conger reports, the hundreds of 18-wheelers dotting the Eagle Ford Shale landscape are causing fatal accidents due to improper maintenance and overworked truck drivers falling asleep behind the wheel.

But out of the hundreds of 18-wheelers and other types of oilfield trucks, a small percentage of them actually get pulled over and inspected by troopers. This means that oil and gas companies are willing to take a “gamble” on getting cited and fined.

For one truck that had been pulled over, the authorities actually had to go underneath the truck to discover that there was anything wrong with it. What they found was bad brakes. “Of course,” said a trooper, as Conger reports, “stuff like this, you wouldn’t know unless we’re under it, checking it.”

Let’s hope that the Texas Department of Transportation continues to focus on Eagle Ford Shale truck inspections by adding more troopers and pulling over more trucks.

Source: Diverting disaster: Texas troopers crack-down on oilfield trucks