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Daily checks and maintenance: How the city keeps it's fleet vehicles safe on the roads

"Whether that be a medic unit, a fire truck, a sedan, a Tahoe they are checked every day from bumper to bumper for its ability to respond safely."

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The investigations continues into Wednesday's commercial cement truck rollover that shut down Highway 358 for several hours.

3NEWS acquired video from the StatCare Urgent Care Clinic that captures the accident as it happened. As the vehicle comes into frame, you can see two tires rolling down the highway just before the truck rolls.

Amazingly, no one in its path was seriously injured. 

While the cause is unknown, the accident still serves as an eye-opening reminder to all companies of how important maintenance can be in helping to avoid a major crash.

3NEWS spoke with officials from the Corpus Christi Fire Department along with the city's fleet operations who have their fair share of big trucks on the roads.

Whether it's routine maintenance or even a major repair, at some point in their life span --  city vehicles will eventually end up in the fleet operations garage.

Russel Dean, Assistant director of the city's asset management fleet, said that preventative maintenance can help keep city vehicles big and small in top shape for all conditions.

"We have a lot of vehicles out there on the road and we also maintain those vehicles the utmost we can," he said. "We have a pretty good responsive crew that can get out and change vehicle tires.  We have vehicles at the city dump that go through a lot of tires," he said. 

Dean said that city vehicles can get worked as miles rack up, which is why servicing the brakes, changing out the tires or tightening the lug nuts is extremely important. 

"I think the track record the city has on its maintenance is due to the fact we have that first line," he said. "People are aware they need to check their vehicle before they get into it, all the way around to make sure its in proper working order."

Daily maintenance and checks are also part of the fire department's routine, even before their crews start the day, according to CCFD Deputy Fire Chief Richie Quintero. 

"Whether that be a medic unit, a fire truck, a sedan, a Tahoe they are checked every day from bumper to bumper for its ability to respond safely," Quintero said.

He adds that it is crucial for larger more specialized vehicles to receive that preventative care and maintenance. 

"It's definitely a multi-tier process," Quintero said. "As an example, we are now in our fleet maintenance shop ensuring everything is ready to be in service. Goes through routine maintenance on an annual basis."

Quintero said whether you are dealing with a vehicle that is commercial or even personal, it all goes back to basics. 

"Those little manuals that we find in the glove box often go unread.  There's a lot of assumptions made on tire pressure, tread, safe operating speed, those types of things should be followed," Quintero said.

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