CHANTILLY, Va. - You share the road with them everyday, but some could be putting you and your family at risk!

Fairfax County (web | news) police held truck safety checks on Route 28 in Chantilly and Centreville Thursday, inspecting the tractors and trailers for violations.

In one case: "Six of the 10 brakes are defective," the inspector told the driver. "I am pulling the tags off your truck. You need to call a tow truck."

The goal was to ticket trucks with violations and get them off local roadways before trouble hits.

"We are just getting hit everywhere everywhere we go," said Milton Rebera, a truck driver transporting a huge load of gravel.

Police say they found defective tires, a turn signal that didn't work and a mechanical problem.

"He has axle grease that is leaking onto the brake drum," said Ofc. Dan Johnson. "When he applies the brakes, those brakes aren't working."

The truck belongs to the company for which Rebera drives. He's paid $180 to get the job done. But police say those brakes will not do.

"He can't stop for the light and he runs into the car or runs over the back of a car, they're going to come back to me and ask me why I let this truck go," said Ofc. Johnson.

"Safety -- that's the main thing, not to hurt nobody, not to hurt themselves," said Rebera.

Officers then learned Rebera had already been pulled over this morning. He was ticketed $667.00 in Spotsylvania County because his load was 5,000 pounds overweight.

"Why didn't you lighten your load?" asked Ofc. Johnson.

Rebera says he kept heading to Chantilly because he wanted to drop off the load and get paid for the job.

"We gotta keep on going because that is the only way we can survive," Rebera said.

Out of more than 30 trucks, more than six, including Rebera's, were towed.

"My job is to keep unsafe vehicles off the road," Ofc. Johnson said.

With two new tickets in Fairfax County, as much as Rebera needs the money, this day's work is going to cost him.

"That's life, like we say, you gotta keep on trucking," he said.

Police say a crash on Route 50 Wednesday -- when a truck slammed into the backs of two cars -- illustrates the importance of such checks. Investigators say six of the truck's eight brakes were not working.

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