As you are driving and passing large trucks on your right, one thought might cross your mind. Is this safe? Tractor trailer trucks are treated like any other vehicle that drives on the road. Just like your car, Vermont state law requires that these trucks must go through an inspection once a year in order to make sure they are safe for everyone on the road.

The Department of Motor Vehicle officers are highly trained. According to Senior Inspector, Patrick McManamon, "We are trained as police officers, then sent to the state truck weigh station which deals with size and weight, how big vehicles can be on our highways and what's the maximum weight it can go."

Unlike a typical vehicle, trucks have to go through inspections that are more invasive and have three levels of roadside examination. The third level is driver analysis. This includes reviewing the drivers records, making sure the drivers license is current, that the driver is following the proper laws, that the driver is keeping a log, and, if required, has the proper endorsements on the license for operating that type of vehicle. The second level is the walk around inspection which is where the officer will walk around the truck to make sure there are no obvious violations. Lastly, the first level which, according to Derek Fenby, Inspector of the Vermont DMV Enforcement Unit, "I'll get out and I'll crawl underneath their truck looking for brake violations, suspension violations, and other violations you know that might occur underneath the vehicles."

If an inspector comes across a truck that does have a violation, it is placed into either the out-of-service or non out-of-service categories. A non out-of-service violation requires that the truck be fixed before it's next dispatch. However, with an out-of-service violation the problem has to be fixed either roadside or it has to be towed to another facility where the repairs will be made.

News 7's Investigative reporter Krista Oberholtzer takes you off the road and into the story.