The trucks stop here

Truck drivers traveling through Newport Coast Wednesday morning had

to put on the brakes -- and it wasn’t because of heavy traffic.

The California Highway Patrol, together with local police

departments, set up a checkpoint to perform random safety inspections

on large trucks.

The checkpoint was held in an effort to prevent accidents on steep

Newport Coast Drive, where there have been three accidents involving

large trucks in little more than a year.

In May, a cement truck, which police believe was overloaded and

had faulty brakes, overturned on Ridge Park Road, just across Newport

Coast Drive from Newport Coast Elementary School.

A cement pumper truck overturned in January while turning from the

Ridge Park Road onto Newport Coast Drive.

In July 2004, a cement truck traveling downhill on Newport Coast

Drive toppled over as it turned onto Pelican Hill Road. That truck

landed on a sport-utility vehicle stopped at a red light.

“We’re taking a proactive role and trying to avoid those things,”

said Newport Beach Traffic Sgt. Ron Vallercamp.

Two of the accidents occurred near Newport Coast Elementary

School, prompting safety concerns that led the city to adopt a new

ordinance that prohibits trucks weighing more than four tons from

driving on Ridge Park Road. After the ordinance goes into effect on

Sept. 8, trucks over the weight limit will be routed to Vista Ridge

Road.

Safety violations on large trucks, especially overloaded trucks or

vehicles with faulty brakes, can lead to dangerous accidents,

Vallercamp said.

“If they know that we’re out there, it keeps them on guard and

hopefully safer,” said Officer Scott Crones of the Irvine Police

Department.

All trucks passing by the checkpoints on both sides of Pacific

Coast Highway at Newport Coast Drive on Wednesday were required to

stop for an inspection.

Newport Beach motor officers also patrolled within a five-mile

radius, rounding up trucks and herding them to the checkpoint area.

Police officers from the Highway Patrol, Newport Beach, Tustin,

Anaheim and Irvine police departments performed a detailed

inspection, testing brakes and weight distribution.

“If you have a truck that gets in a wreck, the outcome’s a lot

worse than [with] a car,” said Crones, who is a member of Irvine’s

commercial vehicle enforcement team.

By 10 a.m. Wednesday, police had stopped more than 20 vehicles,

and several were towed due to the severity of the violations,

Vallercamp said.

Among those drivers stopped by police during the checkpoint was

Sherman Jackson of Inglewood, a driver for Action Demolition, a San

Pedro company.

Jackson said he had never before been stopped in a truck

checkpoint.

His vehicle and that of a co-worker were being towed from the

checkpoint because required permits were invalid, in addition to

other safety violations, Vallercamp said.

“I’m not mad at them [the police officers],” Jackson said.

“Everybody has a job to do.”

Jackson said the brakes on his truck needed work and were

scheduled to be repaired last week. He didn’t know why the vehicle

never made it to the repair yard.

“I knew that they [the brakes] weren’t right, but I didn’t know

they were that wrong,” Jackson said.

As a truck driver, Jackson gets paid only when he’s driving.

Having his truck inspected and towed meant he wouldn’t get a full

day’s pay.

“We’re not getting paid right now,” Jackson said, sitting on a

bus-stop bench waiting for his boss to pick him up.

“He’s not too happy so far,” Jackson said of his boss.

Police are hopeful that truck drivers pulled over during

Wednesday’s checkpoint will tell others that Newport Beach is serious

about safety regulations.

“One of the reasons we do this is as a deterrent,” Vallercamp

said.