Trucking Inspectors: Balancing Safety Rulebooks, Empathy
Something about government programs gets some people spitting mad, and in trucking, probably nothing draws a bigger shower of brickbats than the inspection stops that go on in each state.
At truck stops across the country and on Internet bulletin boards catering to truckers, there is no dearth of displeasure with safety inspectors who can take trucks and drivers out of service at the drop of a hat and play petty dictator with people’s livelihoods for the most minor of infractions. And while it’s impossible to know how many of the complaints have merit, clearly abuses of power occur.
Pilch, who retired after 23 years as a state police officer in 1989, has been inspecting trucks and drivers for the Maryland State Police for 10 years. His regular gig these days is at the Hyattstown Scale House, and on a hazy, cold morning in March, he agreed to spend some time with a Transport Topics reporter and photographer.
For the full story, see the Mar. 27 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
 |  Michael James - Transport Topics |
| Truck safety inspector Richard Claycomb is part of a crew that looks at about 18 vehicles a day at a station in Hyattstown, Md. |
But the stereotype of the weigh station bully who lives to find meaningless violations of irrelevant regulations and refuses to listen to truckers’ explanations of how that turn-indicator light went out may be the exception that proves the rule, if a day with Henry Pilch is any indication.
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