CHP Begins Program to Inspect Trucks Passing Through Moorpark

Trucks in the Moorpark area will be subject to inspection at least once a week under a program that began Wednesday to reduce the volume of traffic on city streets.

Truck traffic through Moorpark has almost doubled in the past five years, from an average of 1,800 trips daily in 1983 to 3,500 in 1988, according to a Caltrans survey.

About a third of the truckers drive through Moorpark to avoid the Conejo Grade inspection station on the Ventura Freeway between Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, said Sgt. Terry Carroll of the California Highway Patrol.

“They won’t be able to avoid us as easily now,” Carroll said.

At least once a week at various locations throughout Moorpark, the CHP and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will check brakes and other mechanical features, and make sure trucks and their drivers are properly registered, Carroll said. Violators will be ticketed and, in some cases, detained until the necessary repairs are completed.

On Wednesday, officers set up a roadside inspection station on Los Angeles Avenue near Gabbert Road. CHP Sgt. Al Bowers said about 300 trucks will be inspected Wednesday and Thursday. Each inspection takes about 15 minutes unless the vehicle needs extensive repairs, he said.

By midday, officers had detained the driver of a moving van for having a rear tire with a hole the size of a softball, among other violations. Repairs, estimated at about $500, would have to be made before the driver could move on, officers said.

Some truckers complained about the delay, though none would admit to using the route through Moorpark as a means of avoiding the inspection station on the Ventura Freeway.

Moorpark officials are working with Caltrans and the CHP to build a permanent truck inspection site on the western outskirts of the city. The station would generate revenue for Moorpark and encourage truckers to comply with safety standards, said Richard Hare, Moorpark’s deputy city manager.