Story Published:
Jun 29, 2009 at 6:35 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Jun 29, 2009 at 6:35 PM CDT
SPRINGFIELD -- KY3 News obtained inspection reports on trucks owned by Associated Wholesale Grocers, the multi-state company with a distribution center in Springfield. AWG owns the truck that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol believes caused the 10-fatality, seven-vehicle wreck in northeastern Oklahoma on Friday afternoon.
In hopes of preventing accidents, law officers conduct random inspections on all commercial vehicles. In 65 inspections of AWG trucks in the last year, inspectors found 67 violations, ranging from drivers speeding to trucks with bad brakes.
While no drivers were taken out of service as a result of those violations, inspectors considered violations on 23 percent of the inspected trucks serious enough to take them off the road. That might sound concerning but it's about average according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Once a truck is taken out of service, the company is required to fix the problems and get the vehicle re-inspected within two weeks for it to be put back in service.
As for the truck involved in the wreck, it's difficult to know if it's had any problems because it hasn't received a random inspection in at least the last two years.
