Philadelphia says it has cut the number of truck crashes by impounding dangerous trucks, but many truckers are not happy about the tactics.

A year ago, Philly officials invoked a never-used 1999 law allowing police to impound unsafe trucks. The action was in response to a high number of major tractor-trailer crashes on area highways.
A nine-member truck detail can stop any truck for inspection without cause. If the tickets exceed $250, the vehicle is seized. The driver has to go to court and pay fines, court costs, towing, storage and paperwork in addition to the fines. The truck then has to be fixed at the impoundment lot or towed to a repair shop.
According to published reports, since April 2001, more than 1,600 trucks have been seized by Philadelphia police for safety violations. The most common citations were for faulty brakes and unsecured loads. At the same time, truck-related accidents in the area are down 69 percent.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the New Jersey Motor Truck Assn. is threatening a civil rights suit. NJMTA director Gail Togh called the seizures “an abuse of power,” “un-American and unconstitutional.”
The New Jersey association, as well as the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Assn., are asking authorities to let driver make minor repairs by the side of the road.
In addition, the paper reported, it’s hard to tell whether the number of truck crashes has dropped because trucks or safer, or because truckers are avoiding the city so they don’t run the risk of having their truck seized.