Truckers Inspected At Bay Area Bridges

The California Highway Patrol is doing random searches of commercial trucks heading to bridges in the San Francisco area.

The inspections started Sunday, when all truckers heading to the Golden Gate Bridge were stopped and inspected.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Gov. Gray Davis approved the decision to search truckers at the Golden Gate Sunday.
There was no specific threat to the famous bridge that prompted the extra security, according to officials. Instead, the checkpoints are part of a heightened state of alert since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. A warning issued by the FBI earlier this month that terrorists might be targeting Western suspension bridges such as the Golden Gate was later withdrawn.
Dwight “Spike” Helmick, commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, told the paper, “We want to keep the trucks and everyone else off guard, so they can’t predict when these inspections will happen.”
The CHP put up fluorescent signs directing truck traffic to pull into coned-off areas between 2:30 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. Officers checked driver’s licenses and log books and inspected truck beds and trailers for hazardous materials or anything suspicious.
The Golden Gate blitz worked so well, officials decided to expand the program. Officers will likely conduct similar inspection blitzes for a few hours at a time, then move on to another bridge.