Welcome back to our discussion on how many local police and sheriff's departments in Texas are pulling over and inspecting commercial vehicles they suspect could be dangerous.

Every dangerous semi-truck that escapes an inspection is another accident waiting to happen, the local departments believe, which is why 29 Texas law enforcement agencies had officers certified to do commercial vehicle inspections about five years ago.

According to a DPS report, there are now 55 agencies have signed agreements to have their officers trained to perform commercial vehicle inspections.

But some trucking companies and truck drivers say that the local agencies get involved for all the wrong reasons.

"Probably the best way to surmise it is, generally, when local jurisdictions, the Barney Fifes, jump into enforcement, it's about enhancing the local city coffers," the director of regulatory affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said. "It has nothing to do with highway safety."

However, spokesman for the Euless Police Department said that local departments do have the best of intentions in conducting the inspections. And even though any commercial truck can be inspected without probable cause, he said local police officers use discretion, usually only picking out trucks that look like they need to be inspected.

Another local police chief said that commercial vehicle enforcement programs, like the one in his city are "never about the money. The fines offset some of the expense. The paramount issue for us is public safety."

Of course, any effort that gets dangerous trucks off of Texas roads is a good thing. The state sees far too many accidents each year involving big rigs that are improperly maintained or operated. Semi trucks are powerful machines, and the damage they cause can be devastating.

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Local law enforcement increasingly stopping, inspecting commercial trucks," Terry Evans, 7/9/2011.