Lack of inspectors lead to unsafe trucks on highways

Ginny MacDonald and Brett J. Blackledge of The Birmingham News used federal data to show that "thousands of big trucks travel Alabama's highways with bad brakes, bad tires and bad drivers ... Many of those dangerous trucks in recent years have been involved in accidents that have killed hundreds, injured thousands and cost millions in highway repairs." The state has many fewer inspectors than other states, and nearly one in three stops in 2003 resulted in yielded a condition "so serious that officers wouldn't let them back on the road until the problem was fixed."