road safety
Opinion: Use your head when approaching emergency workers at roadside
Every time I see a policeman or a tow-truck driver working at the side of a busy road, I get the willies. The risk is so obvious, so profound. A driver’s momentary inattention or wilful carelessness can snuff out a life in a millisecond. It happens far too often.
Montreal blitz targets belts, phone use
MONTREAL, Que. – Drivers of heavy vehicles around Montreal were under the watchful eyes of enforcement teams who were riding an unmarked coach on Tuesday, during a blitz run by Controle Routier Quebec with the support of provincial police. The higher vantage point gave the teams a clear look at whether drivers were using cell phones behind the wheel or not wearing seatbelts. Both offences will see steeper penalties in coming weeks. "Most people now use their cell phone on their thighs,” said Marie-Josée Michaud, public relations officer for Contrôle Routier Québec. In a patrol car, that can be difficult to see, but there’s no problem from the higher position in a bus.
Truckers committed to road safety: OTA
TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is reassuring the public of their commitment to road safety. In a statement released today the OTA says despite the recent media coverage about fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles, trucks are the safest vehicles on the road. The statement comes as a fatal collision involving two tractor-trailers shut down eastbound lanes on Ontario Highway 401, and day after the Ontario Provincial Police charged three more commercial vehicle drivers in 10 deaths on Ontario's highways this summer.
Roadcheck blitz set for June 6-8
GREENBELT, MD - This year's Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) annual Roadcheck inspection blitz will be held June 6-8. The 72-hour event will have inspectors from the U.S., Canada and Mexico conducting an increased number of inspections on commercial vehicles to "conduct compliance, enforcement and educational initiatives." While the event and the particular focus of the inspectors hasn't been formally announced the by the CVSA, the dates have been published on its website. Last year, the inspections narrowed in on tires and level I inspections.
