Halton police say more than one in four commercial vehicles they examined last week failed the safety test and were yanked off the road. The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) has compiled the results of this year’s two-day commercial vehicle (CMV) enforcement blitz held at the Mohawk Raceway in Milton. The annual event was held this year on October 6-7.
The purpose of the CMV blitz is to conduct proactive enforcement to ensure compliance with legislation pertaining to mechanical fitness, weights, load security, safety / inspection compliance and licencing.
With the help of neighbouring police services and agencies, officers were able to inspect 340 commercial motor vehicles with the following results:
• Total commercial motor vehicles inspected: 340
• Total commercial motor vehicles taken out of service: 96 (28 per cent failure rate)
• Total charges laid: 250
• Sets of licence plates seized by police: 7
2019 Results (for comparison):
• Total commercial motor vehicles inspected: 305
• Total commercial motor vehicles taken out of service: 99 (33 per cent failure rate)
• Total charges laid: 239
• Sets of licence plates seized by police: 11
Alcohol screening at the blitz also led to licence suspensions for three drivers. One of the alcohol related licence suspensions was identified as a 14 year suspended driver. This resulted in a 7-day vehicle impound. A total of 19 charges were laid against the driver and his employer, including overweight vehicle, no insurance and multiple mechanical issues.
“Issues identified at the blitz varied across all categories and are reflective of those commercial motor vehicle type offences seen throughout the year,” said Traffic Services Unit Sergeant, Ryan Snow.
“The mechanical issues identified suggest a lack of maintenance and due diligence in daily inspections. Weights also continue to be a safety concern as police continuously note that dump truck drivers claim little control pertaining to overloading of their vehicles. These weight-specific concerns remain an area of ongoing education and enforcement given the obvious handling and braking issues that can occur, along with the additional damage that these weights can render to roadways.
It should also be highlighted that an out of service rate of 28% only means 28% of trucks directed into the blitz failed to meet required standards, and is not necessarily a reflection of all trucks on area roadways.”
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