Maybe they should have Darien set up a check point on a regular basis. Sometimes, waiting for the state to do something is the wrong approach. Truck drivers will not want to waste time sitting at a checkpoint, so why not get the word out by staging excessive checkpoints along 136? It seems like it would pay for itself.
On Wednesday morning, police
issued three-dozen tickets and $5,591
in fines at truck checkpoints along
Route 136 and Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.Blvd.
Thirty-seven trucks were found in
violation of various laws. Police
reported 45 types of charges, three-being issued at the
two checkpoints.
Seven trucks
were found to be
without licensed
operators. One
truck was over-
weight. Another
had equipment
problems and was
sent back to its
garage. Other
charges included no medical cards,
various equipment violations, as
well as overcrowding and driving
while talking on a cell phone,accord-
ing to police.
“We usually do (the checkpoints)
twice a year,â€said Norwalk Police
Lt. Thomas Kulhawik of the Com-
munity Policing division.“There are
still a lot of drivers operating with-
out licenses, especially among the
landscapers. There are a lot of over-
weight vehicles. We’ll continue to do
the checkpoints as long as we need
to.â€
State police and the Community
Policing Unit set up one checkpoint
on Route 136 at McKinley St., from
6:30 to 9:30 a.m.,and another on Mar-
tin Luther King Jr.Blvd.,from 9:30 to
1:30 a.m.Wednesday.Mayor Richard A. Moccia credited
Police Chief Harry W. Rilling, Kul-
hawik and Officer Joseph Jensen of
the Community Policing Unit, and
State Police “for doing a fine job.â€
The crackdown comes as Norwalk and
Darien officials wait for the state Traffic
commission to reach a decision on a joint
request by the two communities to ban
through-truck traffic on Route 136.
source: The Hour, Truck checkpoints yields 45 violations, By ROBERT KOCH , July 27, 2007
