MOORPARK : 2 Officers Added for Truck Inspections

Moorpark police have beefed up their patrol of trucks that detour through the city, police said.

The Ventura County sheriff’s unit assigned to Moorpark recently trained two additional officers in commercial vehicle code enforcement, giving them a total of three officers qualified to inspect trucks, Sgt. Marty Rouse said.

“We’ll be looking for violators on an increased level than we’ve done in the past,” Rouse said. “We’re focusing more on the rigs that decide to avoid the scales and go through our city.”

City officials have charged that a large percentage of the 1,200 truckers who take California 118 through Moorpark each day are avoiding the Conejo weigh station on the Ventura Freeway. Besides adding to noise and traffic problems, the trucks create a safety hazard on the narrow two-lane highway, officials have said.

Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) has sponsored legislation that would give sheriff’s deputies the same authority as the California Highway Patrol in enforcing state truck laws. This legislation, which is pending, would also enable Moorpark officers to operate their own weigh station in the city, a McClintock spokesman said.