They're huge, they're heavy and what they carry could incinerate a whole neighborhood
Everett fire victim"Within a minute cars were blowing up, everything was on fire."
This gasoline tanker truck veered off a rotary in Everett last December with more than 9000 gallons on board exploding into flames.
It's happened in Los Angeles, Tacoma, San Francisco, Detroit –and our investigation found thousands of other tankers from across the country, all carrying hazardous materials, may be on the road in Massachusetts with questionable drivers–and in dangerous condition.
Sgt. Tom Fitzgerald, Mass State Police "Some trucks do not belong on the road. They are unsafe. Sometimes the truck is in such a horrible mechanical condition it really defies common sense."
To try to catch them, the state police truck team brings random rigs off the road for surprise inspections. They check inside, outside, underneath and on top.
Sgt. Tom Fitzgerald, Mass State Police "Driver brakes!"
Route 3, where you share the road with tankers every day, where police nabbed this truck he was hauling a load of gasoline . But soon police discovered multiple brake problems and this guy wasn't going anywhere but out of service.
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter"And if this truck had gone onto the road with these violations, what would have happened? "
Sgt. Tom Fitzgerald, Mass State Police "It's a crap shoot."
This tanker was carrying heating oil, but officers found the guy behind the wheel didn't have the correct license to be driving it.
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter"You were just taken out of service! Why were you driving this truck without the proper credentials? "
Unlicensed driver"No comment please."
And we found in inspections like this the truck team nabbed a tanker carrying toxic potassium hydroxide for bad brakes. One carrying propane had faulty brakes and steering. One carrying explosives was leaking. Drivers were improperly licensed, driving too many hours, and without their glasses. The most recent stats show one in four tankers they checked had to be taken out of service.
Trooper Scott Maguire , Mass. State Police "People die when things go wrong with these."
So why are dangerous tankers still on the road?
In Massachusetts they're required to have annual state and federal safety inspections. But look at the rules: the companies that own the trucks can inspect themselves!
Jerry Donaldson, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety"That's asking for trouble, that's asking for negligence, that's asking for irresponsibility."
What's more trucks on Mass roads of course come from out of state, where sometimes there's no state safety inspection program at all!
Trooper Scott Maguire, Mass. State Police "Sometimes unfortunately we are their maintenance program. Things aren't getting fixed until we find them. "
But for every one that gets pulled over highways are crowded with thousands that don't.
Sgt. Tom Fitzgerald, Mass State Police "Drivers really need to know, they need to stay away from trucks, to exercise extreme caution. "
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter"That's such a frightening thought. "
Sgt. Tom Fitzgerald, Mass State Police "It 's a reality. "
As for that Everett tanker experts tell us even though the truck was destroyed in the fire, it may still be possible to discover the cause of the crash and if it was driver error or a mechanical problem. That may be public soon; sources tell us officials are now nearing the end of their investigation.
(Copyright 2008 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)