Dozens of commercial vehicles were pulled off Highway 7/8 Thursday as police conducted an inspection blitz.
The vehicles were diverted to The Aud, where the Ministry of Transportation and police officers from several jurisdictions took a look at them.
“We have a set standard that we do these inspections to, an industry accepted standard,” says Ministry of Transportation enforcement officer Bob Lickers.
Vehicles found not to be up to that standard can be fined anywhere from $250 to $50,000, although most fines come in at less than $500.
Additionally, if vehicles can’t be brought up to standard on-site – by adjusting an improper cargo load, for example – they have to be towed to a garage or other facility.
Violations found Thursday included unsecured cargo, tires worn past acceptable levels and a trailer with an overly rusty frame.
A total of 117 charges were laid on the day, with nearly half of all vehicles inspected being told to make repairs.
Although truck drivers pulled off the highway admit the inspections are inconvenience, they say they’re in favour of the blitzes.
“It’s a good thing. There are a lot of companies out there that don’t take care of their equipment,” says driver Bob Snider.
Snider’s truck was given a clean bill of health, but Mike Brouwer’s vehicle – which has been through several inspections in Brouwer’s 12 years as a truck driver – wasn’t as lucky.
“They wanted to see a different stamp on my chains, and one of my tires was five pounds below what it should have been. We’ll fix that,” he says.
Despite the violations, Brouwer too is in favour of the inspections, noting that some companies may look to skimp on vehicle safety as a means of being able to offer cheaper prices than competitors that take safety more seriously.
“Before you know it, they’re a lot cheaper than we are. This evens the scales a smidgen,” he says.
Police will be back at The Aud on Friday for a second round of inspections.
