Inspectors at White River Junction, about two thirds of the way down Vermont on the way to Massachusetts and just across the Connecticut river from New Hampshire, weren't sweating the small things under the sun and breeze on the first day of 2022’s edition of the annual roadside inspection blitz, Roadcheck.
Vermont DMV Enforcement & Safety Captain Kevin Andrews was working on Roadcheck's first day at the rest area off I-91 SB just below the junction with I-89. There, inspectors say they have seen no shortage of spectacle, from every high-wide-and-ugly load you can think of to trucks pulling in for inspection while presently on fire.
Vermont itself is a quiet state, but it sees plenty of traffic from Quebec down to more heavily populated areas of the Northeast, and much of southern and western New Hampshire’s traffic hops on I-91 at some point. Currently, the area's in the grip of a once-in-a-generation crunch on diesel fuel inventories, and this author spotted one mom-and-pop station selling it at $6.43/gallon.
[Related: Diesel fuel shortage hits the Northeast]
Most trucks breezed through the rest area lot after a quick walkaround and kick of the tires, but the DMV's Commercial Vehicle Information Exchange Window (CVIEW) system flagged rigs from companies with adverse safety scores and new companies that haven't been inspected before -- or old companies overdue for another.
Vermont DMV Enforcement & Safety Captain Kevin Andrews inspects a wheel end at a Roadcheck event off I-91.Alex Lockie for Overdrive
Andrews’ team, and the wider CVSA Roadcheck effort, this year targeted wheel end violations, but did their best to keep an eye on the broader picture. Overdrive has covered in detail best practices and intricacies of wheel end maintenance, and Andrews and his team certainly put every hub through a thorough inspection. But inasmuch as inspectors themselves influence the results of an inspection, Vermont enforcement took a nuanced view of contentions around wheel seals. For example, while some inspectors may knock a driver for having some moisture on the seals, Andrews said it was natural and nothing to worry about.
