Newly formed Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad keeps truckers legal

Stop at any light in Maricopa, and you will have time to notice that a great majority of the traffic in and around Maricopa consists of trucks: work trucks, delivery trucks and 18-wheelers. On Wednesday, February 22, the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad dispatched a detail to Maricopa to deal with those trucks.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad was recently formed, funded with federal grant monies provided by the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). The unit, headed by Sergeant Willie Payne, works in conjunction with the commercial vehicle unit from DPS.

On Wednesday, the squad made 31 commercial vehicle stops in Maricopa. Of those, 72 citations were for non-compliance, five for outer services, one for no valid permit, one for a false log book, one for a wide load, seven for excessive speed and one for failure to comply with a law order. One arrest resulted.

According to Payne, one truck had been cited for nine violations in Scottsdale earlier in the day and was put out of service. The driver continued on his route, knowing that he should not move his vehicle until the violations were corrected. In Maricopa the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad stopped him, citing him for seven additional violations. That particular driver, if found guilty, can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $20,000 in fines for those seven violations.

The newly formed Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad takes its duties seriously, and, with all the truck traffic in and around Maricopa, the squad should find plenty to do.