Operation Highway Guardian removes 72 trucks from the road in Durham Region
A two-day commercial vehicle enforcement blitz across the Greater Toronto Area and Durham Region resulted in 72 trucks being placed out of service and more than 200 charges being laid.
The operation, dubbed Operation Highway Guardian, was conducted April 29-30 and coordinated by the Ontario Provincial Police’s Toronto Whitby detachment.
Participating agencies included the OPP Highway Safety Division, Durham Regional Police Service, Guelph Police Service, Hamilton Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service and Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation.
According to police, 26 officers conducted 148 commercial vehicle inspections during the initiative.
Inspectors placed 72 vehicles out of service and issued 211 charges. Six license plates were also removed.
Violations included mechanical defects, cargo securement issues, overweight and oversize infractions, hours-of-service violations, documentation deficiencies, improper licensing and operating without a valid commercial vehicle operator’s registration (CVOR).
Police said some vehicles were found with serious safety defects, including broken leaf springs and lug nut issues.
Officers also conducted driver education during the enforcement campaign, reminding operators to complete pre- and post-trip inspections, report defects, ensure proper training and licensing, and understand when a CVOR is required.
“Safe vehicles save lives,” the OPP said in a statement.
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i don’t believe it is an enforcement issue as a total I don’t care attitude on drivers and owners. All of these defects can be easily spotted but you have to want to fix them. Yes keep enforcement going but not just this how about the way people drive…we need a few hundred officers to make things change
One day enforcement will not work They need officers out there daily to get this junk off the road. These operators and carriers are a danger to our families using the highway system. The government needs to do more to keep everyone safe.
I’ve been to a reputable Transport Training School in the last year and know exactly why this is happening. The trucks that we were supposed to use for on road training always had defects. I did a walk around one morning and there were 4 major defects on this truck, which we then could not get our on road training. The crazy thing was that this very truck was driven from another location on the 401 by a senior instructor. My instructor said jump in, and I said not till I do my walk around. Then the day ended. In a 8 week course, there were expired safety stickers, license plate missing, trailer crash bars removed, leaky wheel seals, out of service tires, unsecured observation seat behind driver, suspension air bag defects, it was a horror show. Insult to injury the school prides itself on having the best and highest safety equipment in Canada. When I complained they claimed I was not at their school. Its an ongoing fight. The industry is broken from the start.
Even at the DriveTest Center, there are examiners that test you that have never driven a transport truck ever. Just for their test.
It would be interesting to know when the annual were done on these trucks with serious safety issues. An inspection can sometimes tell how long the issue has been present. Have operators figured a way to fudge the annuals. Also bad operators never seem to get much punishment. Is there a way that mechanics can take pictures of a good set of brakes that are not on the truck being inspected?
How embarrassing for the OPP and the MTO! Their historical lack of enforcement has created a situation where almost 50% of the vehicles in this inspection are deemed to be Out Of Service. Operators all over Ontario have grown so complacent that the norm is to run with dangerous equipment because there are apparently no negative consequences. Why fix it? That costs money – run it as is.
One day a year enforcement will not work. It just rewards the bad behaviour.