In the old days — which were not so very long ago, technologically speaking — commercial vehicle inspection meant having inspectors out on the highways, watching for and inspecting unsafe trucks. Or, it meant random inspections, an equally limited approach dependent on budget and number of inspectors.

But these are the new days. Now the New Mexico Department of Public Safety's Smart Roadside Inspection System program uses a series of roadside sensors to collect data from passing vehicles.

Without slowing down or stopping traffic, electronic screening can detect safety issues based on a set of objective testing criteria, rather than depending on individual inspectors' assessments of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles, according to Maj. Ron Cordova of the Motor Transportation Police Division.

For its "commitment to saving lives by improving our nation's roadways," the division recently earned one of nine National Roadway Safety Awards from the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation. The biannual awards are presented to highway projects and programs around the country that "exhibit excellence in roadway design, operations and planning."

Scott Verhines has accepted an appointment as the new state engineer, taking over the critical and complex job of managing the state's water resources. Verhines replaces former State Engineer John D'Antonio, who left the agency in October to take a job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Verhines also assumes duties as secretary of the Interstate Stream Commission and as a member of the New Mexico Water Trust Board. He is a registered professional engineer in New Mexico, with more than 34 years of work experience in water resources.


Serving as deputy state engineer is
Estevan Lopez, director of the Interstate Stream Commission. Lopez, also a professional engineer in New Mexico, has been director of the commission since 2003. Prior to that, he served as Santa Fe County manager and as the county's land-use and utility director.


In other State Engineer's Office employee news, Michael Opitz has been promoted to engineer-basic in the agency's Water Rights Abstracting Bureau. Opitz is a certified water rights abstractor who has worked on a number of projects around the state. Ken Richard also received a promotion as water resource specialist-senior in the Water Use and Conservation Bureau in Santa Fe.


New hires in the State Engineer's Office Interstate Stream Commission include Kimberly Bannerman, an attorney with the commission's general counsel; Raj Solomon of the Planning and Communication Division; and Dominique Work, who rejoined the agency after earning a degree from The University of New Mexico School of Law.

If you have news about a public employee, contact Fauntleroy at gussie7@fairpoint.net.