Halton police conduct annual safety inspection blitz on large, commercial trucks

Halton police were pulling large trucks and commercial vehicles off the road today for their annual safety inspection blitz.

Officers check all aspects of the vehicles to ensure they are safe. Police say one truck driver was fined after drinking on the job.

“Unfortunately, we’ve already had one today that — a commercial motor vehicle operator that had alcohol in his system,” said Const. Jeff Dillon. “That driver — the vehicle was parked. Because he does have alcohol in his system, he would be facing a fine for that.”

Police services from across Southwestern Ontario hosted their annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Initiative, pulling over truck drivers to inspect their vehicles and loads.

Some of the drivers said they were a little bit nervous when their trucks were pulled off the road.

“For me, actually, this is my first time having a Level 1 inspection,” said driver Ricky Rempel. “I wouldn’t say nervous because I keep a pretty close eye on my truck. Well, yeah, a little bit nervous because you never know what they might find or what you might have missed.”

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Kitenga Belmasa, another driver pulled over, was caught off guard.

“I was surprised, but I know they do this sometimes,” Belmasa said. “It caught me off guard, but once again, I maintain a good truck, so I’m gonna pass.”

Officers carefully inspect key safety components on every vehicle.

“We want to make sure there’s sufficient tread on the tires so that way the tires can provide traction on the roadway, and we’re going to check all of our wheel fasteners,” said Const. Marc Taraso.

Police are looking for red flags. Last year, one in three trucks pulled off the road failed the inspection.

“A lot of the time it’s unsafe loads as well as brake issues,” Const. Dillon explained. “A few years ago, we had an 80 per cent failure rate of the vehicles that were here. So 80 per cent of the trucks that came through were pulled off the road. Last year that was 30 per cent. So those numbers are getting better, but of course 30 per cent is still too much. Again, one is too many.”

Police say ensuring these large trucks are safe gives other drivers peace of mind.

“Commercial motor vehicles make up a huge portion of the traffic on our roadways,” Const. Dillon said. “Making sure that everything on those vehicles is in proper working order to ensure the safety of that vehicle and everybody else on the roadway, that’s the main reason for being here.”

The safety blitz continues tomorrow.

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