KP Industries Finishes Motor Carrier Inspection Site

A new motor carrier inspection site, constructed by Kings Park Industries, opened Tuesday on Crooked Hill Road in Commack. The station is dedicated to Suffolk County Police Officer Glen Ciano, who was killed by a drunken driver in 2009.

The inspection site is designed to address concerns of overweight and unsafe trucks and busses on Suffolk’s roadways, which carry more registered commercial vehicles than any other county in New York. 

SCPD Officer Michael Mallin of the county’s Highway Patrol Bureau said the site is the perfect location for western Suffolk because it will alleviate traffic on Commack Road and help save lives through preventing tire blowouts or other potential hazards caught during safety inspections. 

“Half of all of the trucks we stop are placed out of service for serious safety violations,” he said, emphasizing the need for the inspection site on the western side of the county.

While Crooked Hill Road is a busy, narrow street, Mallin said that he is confident the station will not cause a traffic backup. 

“We don’t want to interfere with regular business. Once the trucks are inspected, we send them on their way. This is not an overnight spot or not a rest area. This is for enforcement purposes only and will be fenced off when police are not there,” he said.

An inspection typically takes between 30 and 45 minutes, Mallin said.

On Tuesday, officers conducted two inspections, in which they checked the weight and entire undercarriage of a truck and school bus.

“Hundreds of thousands of school children will be going off in 10 days with the expectation that will arrive safely, so it couldn’t be more important,” Suffolk County Legis. John Kennedy, who spearheaded the project, said.

The land for the inspection site, which is across from the Kohl’s shopping center and next to a farm stand, came at zero cost to the town or county. John Baker, who owns the private land, gave the parcel to the County for SCPD to conduct its inspections. The construction of the site, which was done by Kings Park Industries, Inc. cost the County $650,000 in serial bonds.

“I’m a proponent who often says sometimes government doesn’t work very well, but today is an example of government working well and working swiftly,” Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said.