(PIKESVILLE, MD) – Stopping ten commercial drivers with suspended or no licenses in less than two days earlier this week highlights just one aspect of the important work conducted each day by personnel with the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division to keep the state’s highways safe.
This week’s suspended commercial vehicle drivers began showing up at 10:00 p.m. Monday, when a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) trooper stopped a tractor trailer on Rt. 301 in Queen Anne’s County and found the driver’s license was suspended in Virginia. The next commercial truck driver with license problems was stopped just after 8:00 a.m. the next morning near the CVED Hyattstown weigh facility in Montgomery County. This driver was found to have no license at all. Minutes later, a CVED crew stopped a dump truck driver on Beech Rd. at St. Barnabas Rd. in Prince George’s County and found his license was suspended in Maryland.
At 9:30 a.m. on August 18th, CVED personnel stopped a dump truck driver on Rt. 5 at Allentown Rd. in Prince George’s County and found his Maryland license was suspended. Less than six hours later, a CVED team stopped a truck on Rt. 301 at Berry Rd. in Charles Co. and found the driver was suspended in Maryland.
Just after 1:30 a.m. on August 19th, CVED personnel stopped a tractor trailer in Queen Anne’s County and found the driver’s license was suspended in New York. At 10:30 a.m. that day a dump truck driver was stopped in Prince George’s County and found to have a suspended license. As he was being stopped, this driver threw a bag of suspected marijuana out the passenger window of his dump truck. In addition to his citation for driving on a suspended license, he received a civil citation for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana.
The driver of a box truck was stopped at the Hyattsville weigh facility at 11:30 a.m. and found to be an unqualified driver. About 30 minutes later, a CVED stopped a dump truck driver in Prince Georges County and found the driver’s license was suspended in Washington, D.C. At the same time, a truck driver at the Hyattstown weigh facility was found to be driving without a commercial driver’s license.
Each of these drivers was charged with driving on a suspended license or without a license. They were also placed out of service and not permitted to proceed.
The work of the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division personnel covers much more than just checking for proper licenses. CVED personnel daily enforce a wide range of state and federal regulations related to commercial vehicle safety and transportation. This includes weighing and conducting safety inspections of commercial vehicles at 12 fixed locations and with 13 roving crews throughout Maryland. CVED personnel conduct multiple targeted initiatives throughout the year that focus on specific areas of concern including out-of-state trash haulers, commercial bus safety, overweight vehicles operating on restricted roads/bridges, and hazardous materials haulers.
As of August 20th, State Police CVED personnel have conducted 68,978 safety inspections this year on commercial vehicles. Maryland continues to be recognized as number one in the nation for having the most commercial vehicle safety inspections per lane mile.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has presented the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division its leadership award for conducting the most comprehensive investigations three of the past five years. CVED was just awarded the “Traffic Safety Innovations” award for 2015 and will receive multiple national awards from the International Association of Chiefs of Police later this year.
Led by Captain Bill Dofflemyer, the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division has 154 personnel, of which 124 are certified commercial motor vehicle inspectors. The safety of Maryland’s roads and highways as impacted by commercial vehicle operations is their daily priority. For more information, visit: http://mdsp.maryland.gov/Organization/Pages/CommercialVehicleEnforcementDivision.aspx\
