INSPECTION FACILITY HELPS BIG RIGS MAINTAIN RULES OF ROAD.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A pair of pliers on the steering shaft replace a standard steering wheel, clamps hold brake lines together and duct tape binds the weight bearing springs on some big rigs.

These are some of the conditions California Highway Patrol inspectors have uncovered at their Castaic Inspection Facility just off the Golden State Freeway, where each day 8,500 trucks stop - some of them until repairs are made.

While patrol officers are cracking down on truckers who speed or violate other rules of the road, inspectors say they prevent hundreds of problems a year by forcing truckers to keep their rigs in good repair and to get the required rest.

Last year, 456 drivers and 7,422 trucks were put out of service pending repairs or other remedies.

The problems ranged from driver fatigue to mechanical problems to rigs that surpassed the 80,000-pound gross weight limit for California roads. In the same year, 29 drivers were arrested on suspicion of drug and alcohol violations.

``We're kind of like a sleeping giant,'' CHP Sgt. Dwight McDonald said of the station that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. ``People see us, but they don't think much about us.''

Last year marked a milestone for the weigh station - 2 million trucks passed through the facility, located in the middle of a booming community.

With more cars sharing the highway with the massive trucks and more trucks coming through the facility, the CHP is focused on keeping faulty trucks off the roads.

The CHP's goals in the coming years include reducing fatal crashes involving trucks and to get chase down truckers who drink or use drugs.

The growing community straddling Interstate 5 and four major freeway construction projects under way are expected to cause considerable traffic congestion.

``We've almost outgrown the area here,'' said Lt. Bill Ward, the facility's commander. ``We need to expand to accommodate the increase in truck traffic.''

The state Department of Transportation has plans to remodel and expand the station in 2006 to improve capacity and efficiency.

``This is one of the older facilities and it has the highest volume in the state for a one-direction facility,'' McDonald said.

It opened in 1950 on The Old Road, a decade and a half before the freeway opened.

The inspection station is a quick stop for a driver and rig in good order. But those who want to avoid the stop have been known to go out of their way - bypassing the scales by heading up north on the Antelope Valley Freeway.

``If a truck is overweight and the driver says he's going (to a town) which is up the I-5 and we catch him on the 14, then we're not stupid, we know he was trying to avoid the scales,'' McDonald said.

A mobile enforcement program works in conjunction with the inspection facility, traveling Highway 14 in search of truckers violating the law. Last year the mobile program put 819 trucks out of service.

At the Castaic stop, about 120 trucks undergo full inspections each day. Inspectors check underneath the trucks for leaks and look at the suspension, brake lining and steering - a process that takes no more than 20 minutes.

But the routine inspections took a back seat in the months after Sept. 11 as inspectors began focusing almost exclusively on trucks carrying hazardous materials at the urging of government intelligence.

``Hazmat had always been the major concern but we became more aware and attuned to what we were looking at,'' said Alan Clinkscales, an administrative assistant at the station.

Operations at the facility have pretty much returned to normal as they have resumed routine inspections.

Jack Bottoni, a Blue Barrel Disposal driver who was pulled in for an inspection, is a regular who goes through the scales about 10 times a day.

``I have no problem with the inspection,'' he said. ``Some of these trucks shouldn't be on the road.''

Clinkscales says that after 10 years of seeing the things he has seen he has one piece of advice for freeway drivers.

``I always tell people I know: If you recognize the name on the side of the truck, they're OK,'' Clinkscales said, explaining that large companies most likely maintain their trucks. ``If not, then stay away.''

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in SAC edition) Gary Philpott waves a truck in for inspection at the Castaic Inspection Facility at the northbound Golden State Freeway scales.

(2) Gary Philpott checks underneath a truck for leaks during part of a 20-minute inspection.

(3 -- ran in Bulldog edition only) CHP commercial vehicle inspection specialist Gary Philpott marks a rig with a sticker showing it has passed inspection at the Castaic Inspection Facility near the Golden State Freeway.

(4 -- 5 -- ran in Bulldog edition only) At left, Jack Bottoni, left, and Julian Vallejo repair a waste management vehicle. At right, inspector Gary Philpott looks over a rig in Castaic.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer