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POUND RIDGE, N.Y. Two arrests were made and 33 summonses issued in a commercial vehicle enforcement detail held by the Pound Ridge Police Department in conjunction with New York State Police and the Westchester County Department of Consumer Affairs.
The detail was held on Westchester Avenue at the Town Park on Friday. It was the first of three details scheduled for spring.
The details, conducted annually since 2005, are done to ensure commercial vehicles operating in town are in compliance with all statutes and regulations, Pound Ridge Police Chief David Ryan said.
Imagine a truck that is 12 tons over the allowable weight with inadequate brakes and no stop lamps, Ryan said. That is about as unsafe a situation as one could have occur should that truck have to stop for a school bus unloading children or for any other reason. It puts other drivers at risk and truck owners must be held accountable.
The two drivers arrested were charged with driving without licenses. Additionally, two companies were charged with operating without permits while conducting business in Westchester County. Two large vehicles were taken out of service and towed for major safety violations. Additionally, 45 warnings were issued on vehicles with minor safety violations.
As part of the detail, state troopers from the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit worked with Pound Ridge police to conduct inspections to make sure trucks are safe and the equipment such as brakes are in working order. Police also made certain the drivers possessed the proper credentials to carry the materials they were transporting.
The Westchester County Department of Consumer Affairs ensured that all commercial businesses operating in Pound Ridge were properly permitted and that employers were carrying the correct insurance to protect homeowners in the event a contractor or employee is injured on their property.
The work that these troopers perform is critical to making our highways safe, especially on these narrow and windy roads in Pound Ridge, Ryan said. To discover these kinds of major safety violations in fuel trucks or to find drivers operating trucks with loads that are thousands and thousands of pounds over the capacity of the vehicle is critical to preventing very serious accidents.
Ryan also praised the Department of Consumer Affairs, saying it helped find companies that are operating without permits and conducting business illegally.
Finding these companies is important in protecting homeowners from being victimized or even worse, finding themselves getting work done by unlicensed companies and then involved in litigation when the work is not done properly or a worker gets injured, he said. It puts the homeowner at significant risk and I cant thank the Department of Consumer Affairs enough for its willingness to participate in these details.
With two more commercial vehicle enforcement details planned, Ryan says police hope they can educate companies to keep their large trucks in compliance to make the roads safer.
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