The federal government’s stepped-up effort to bring safety scofflaws to heel is paying off, according to Capt. Guy Guyton of the Maryland State Police.

Guyton said he is seeing a higher safety consciousness among trucking companies since enforcement officials started conducting more compliance reviews. “Fleets are watching themselves more closely,” he said.
He does not have any hard data to prove his observation, but noted that it stands to reason: “When they know we are coming, it tends to make them more honest.”
Guyton, who was on hand at the Hyattstown, Md., weigh station on I-270 for International RoadCheck 2000, was referring to an enforcement effort launched last year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The federal truck safety program had been under criticism from Congress for not being aggressive enough on enforcement. FMCSA responded with a commitment to increase the number of safety compliance reviews and start hitting truckers with bigger fines. The agency has its own inspectors, and supports the work of state police inspectors through its Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.
International RoadCheck is a three-day roadside inspection blitz held each year in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Also on hand for ceremonies at the weigh station were Julie Anna Cirillo, acting chief safety officer of FMCSA, Rosalyn Millman, acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Stephen Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.