But the reason for the license and registration checks, weight examinations, payload searches, and safety inspections, said Falls Police Chief Arnie Conoline, was not making money. The idea was to weed out dangerous trucks and make sure drivers were operating their rigs properly, he said.
``Most of these guys understand we're just here to do our job,'' Conoline said.
Beginning about 4 a.m., township police and fire officials in orange and yellow rain slickers paced the wet pavement around three inspection stations on West Steel Road, while another officer a quarter-mile to the west on heavily traveled New Ford Mill Road diverted passing big rigs their way.
Met by grinding gears and sighing hydraulic brakes, Officer Hank Ward, one of three Falls officers certified by the state as a commercial-vehicle inspector, greeted drivers with queries about required licenses, registrations, and health and safety cards. As they reached for proof, he scanned their vehicles for required registration numbers, faulty equipment or failing parts.
``A lot of these things are junk that shouldn't even be on the road,'' Ward said. ``They're an accident waiting to happen.''
The trucks then rolled over two scales that ensured they were in compliance with state and federal weight limits before moving on to a final station, where fire officials sifted through putrid heaps of trash and solid waste in cargo holds in search of radioactive, medical, toxic or hazardous wastes that are illegal to transport or dump. They also watched for safety violations such as the absence of a fire extinguisher in the vehicle's cab.
