Truckers Jim Gray and Dan Born had at least one thing in common yesterday -- neither was upset at being ordered off of Interstate 376 in Findlay for a surprise safety inspection.

"You've got to have safe vehicles on the road. It's well worth the inconvenience," said Mr. Gray, of Monroeville, hauling groceries for Giant Eagle in a tractor-trailer.

Mr. Gray's rig got a thumbs up from Tom Jacques, coordinator of the Pittsburgh police commercial vehicle safety unit.

Mr. Born wasn't so lucky. A hissing sound betrayed two leaks in his truck's air brake system and he was ordered off the road until repairs could be made.

Police inspected 36 trucks and issued 22 citations, with 10 violations serious enough to put trucks out of service, said David Pritt, safety press officer for PennDOT District 11.

"It's a safety issue and I'm glad it's being taken care of, because it could get worse," said Mr. Born, of Brookline, who was hauling building products on a flatbed for Three Rivers Trucking of Springdale.

Seventeen officers from state, Findlay, Pittsburgh, Mt. Lebanon, Jefferson Hills, Moon and Port Authority police set up the checkpoint across three of the four inbound lanes on I-376 (formerly Route 60) near Pittsburgh International Airport.

As traffic crawled by in the left lane, officers systematically pulled some of the bigger trucks aside to check their lights, brakes, exhaust systems, fuel tanks and drivers.

"This is one of the safest industries out there," said Officer Jacques, who has inspected thousands of trucks in the past six years and works full-time at it. "But with that said, there are some things that need to be addressed."

He said that nationally, 26 percent of trucks that are inspected have deficiencies that require them to be taken out of service. Nine percent of drivers are sidelined by problems like invalid licenses or exceeding their maximum hours behind the wheel.

The officers, their hands and jumpsuits smeared with grease, stretched out on mechanic's creepers to slide under the rigs for close-ups of the brakes and tubing.

Officer Jacques demonstrated how brake lines can rub against each other or the truck body and start to wear.

"It rubs through the outer ply and you start to see cord. If you see that, it's a dead truck. He's out of service," he said.

Mr. Born's truck had a bigger problem -- a visible hole in a brake line that hissed like a balloon losing air. A second leak was found in a valve.

Officer Jacques said the leaks robbed the braking system of adequate pressure. Mr. Born said he knew about the leaks but said his pressure gauge showed there was no immediate danger of losing braking power. "I wouldn't drive it if it was in that shape," he said.

"It is a serious violation," Officer Jacques said. He said the driver, his firm or both likely would be cited for violating vehicle equipment standards, which carries fines of $300 per citation for the driver and $600 for the company.

It also meant that Mr. Born had to call a mechanic and have the leaks repaired before police would let him resume his trip.

The checkpoint and other safety initiatives are funded with a $300,000 grant that Officer Jacques helped secure from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

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