Poor semi construction causing alarm

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - According to federal records, Indiana State Police found more than 6,000 semi trucks with mechanical issues last year.

The problems were so dangerous that officers immediately pulled the semi trucks off the road.

Morris Trucking Corporation in Terre Haute said one of its semis had a problem several years ago.
 
"We had a bolt that never got installed at the factory, and it didn't show up for several miles...It was just slightly out of warranty when it did show up and caused a complete engine failure," Morris Trucking Corporation President Mike Morris said.

Morris has seen around 1,000 semi trailers in his 40 years in the business.

He said for the most part, he's happy with the quality control he sees from the birth of the truck.

"Sloppy work from a factory on a new truck or repair facilities, we've just really not experienced that," Morris said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration places strict regulations of the maintenance of commercial trucks.

Inspection reports from state police reveal unsafe tires, defective turn signals, break issues and unsecured loads in semis.

Alarming statistics that Morris says they've avoided so far.

They say they trust their dealers to create safe roadways.

"People are scrambling for business and they're working hard for their customers, they're trying to do the job right and the equipment today is the paint, the finish, the fit, everything is better than it used to be," he said.

News 10 spoke to Indiana State Police.

They report: locally, maintenance issues have not caused many problems.

Officers attribute most accidents to driver error.