On Wednesday, April 14, several states, including Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania performed enforcement blitzes aimed at improving the safety of the interstate system for and around commercial motor vehicles.

The Kentucky State Police inspected 419 commercial trucks, with 160 traffic citations and 188 written warnings. Of those trucks inspected, Kentucky found 723 violations, placing 42 drivers and 72 vehicles out of service.

When factoring in the totals for the multistate effort, which included Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, there were 1,310 inspections and 2,423 violations, of which 364 were considered out of service violations. These states placed 87 drivers and 175 vehicles out of service.

Through its Commercial Motor Vehicle Safe Transportation of Placarded Substances detail, or S.T.O.P.S., Pennsylvania State Police and Public Utility Commission placed 148 trucks out of service and issued 528 traffic citations during the one-day enforcement effort. This blitz focused on inspecting commercial vehicles that transport hazardous materials.

"Each year, about 200 trucks transporting hazardous materials are involved in fatal crashes, and 5,000 others are involved in nonfatal crashes on our nation's highways," said State Police Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski. "Although these numbers appear relatively small, the potential for human injury and property damage in hazmat crashes is high."

In Pennsylvania, 1,348 commercial vehicles were inspected. In addition to placing vehicles out of service and issuing traffic citations, officers handed out 1,351 written warnings for vehicle and driver violations and placed 28 drivers out of service.