El Paso starts truck inspections on both sides of Transmountain after deadly brake-failure pileup; city weighs limiting heavy trucks

El Paso police have increased commercial truck inspections on Transmountain Road after a fatal multi-vehicle collision involving a semitrailer with failing brakes, according to the El Paso Times on Oct. 21. The department's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers began inspecting semitrailers on Wednesday, Oct. 21, on both the Northeast and West Side of the mountain road, police spokesman Sgt. Robert Gomez said.

"The goal is to make sure that vehicles travelling through Transmountain are safe," Gomez said, adding: "It's not a checkpoint. Officers are pulling over commercial vehicles on both the Northeast side and the West Side before they get up the mountain." Officers are trying to inspect in the safest locations along or next to the highway, and there is no definite end time for the crackdown; the department is also working with other law enforcement agencies to increase traffic enforcement on the road. Police Chief Peter Pacillas ordered the increase on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Mayor Renard Johnson and Pacillas announced the "Enough is Enough" inspection initiative at a Tuesday press conference, according to CDLLife on Oct. 21.

The crash happened on Monday, Oct. 19, on the western side of Transmountain Road at the North Desert Boulevard intersection. The truck driver, from Laredo, reported that his brakes failed as he traveled downhill on the mountain road connecting Northeast and West El Paso. The semitrailer sideswiped a crossover SUV and pushed it into a pickup, then struck a second pickup — a Chevrolet Colorado, killing its driver, Rene Dario Perez Ramirez, 42 — before continuing south, hitting a third pickup and pushing it into another SUV as debris hit another vehicle, according to CDLLife on Oct. 21 and the El Paso Times on Oct. 21, reporting the police account. Nine other people were injured in five other vehicles, police said, and the crash remains under investigation. A runaway truck ramp in the area has been open since July, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, but has not yet been used, according to CDLLife on Oct. 21.

Drivers running Transmountain should expect the full range of roadside inspections. The department has six specially trained, certified commercial vehicle inspectors who completed a three-week course under Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance criteria, Gomez said. Inspections focus on brakes, tires, seat belts, turn signals and driver log books, and come in three levels: Level 1, the most intensive, a 37-point inspection including officers getting underneath the vehicle; Level 2, a walkaround; and Level 3, a check of documents and paperwork. Violations can bring citations, and hazardous violations can pull a vehicle out of service — the company may fix the problem at the roadside, or the vehicle will be towed if the repair is too extensive. Statistics on inspections, violations and citations were not yet available and will be disclosed after a couple of days of collection, Gomez said.

Johnson said the city will work with the state to try to ban heavy commercial vehicles on Transmountain Road, which is a state highway. "I know trucks are important to our economy. They move our goods, and they support local businesses. Truck drivers also deserve safe roads, but moving goods can never be more important than protecting lives," Johnson said, according to CDLLife on Oct. 21. Pacillas warned the public to expect congestion while officers inspect large vehicles on the road.