Almost 50% of Operation Deterrence inspections uncovered non-compliance, OTA says
Nearly half of all truck inspections part of Operation Deterrence uncovered non-compliance, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) has learned.
Over the 48,400 total inspections, approximately 22,500 separate types of non-compliance issues have been documented in the first four months of the campaign, according to an OTA news release.
They include out-of-service orders, documented violations, issuance of charges, plate removals, and impoundments for serious vehicle defects. This translates into a rate of about 46 non-compliance issues per 100 inspections for Ontario-plated carriers, OTA said.
The rate was even higher for out-of-province carriers. There were 57 non-compliance issues per 100 inspections for carriers based other provinces; and 53 non-compliance issues per 100 inspections for carriers based outside of Canada.
Operation Deterrence – which involves opening trailer and container doors at roadside to ensure properly secured cargo – has shown to be a success in identifying and combatting non-compliance in trucking.
Securing border with U.S.
“Operation Deterrence shows MTO’s commitment to supporting the responsible, compliant part of the industry and the efforts are having an impact on securing Ontario’s border with the U.S.,” OTA chairman Mark Bylsma said in the release.
“But the initiative also underlines what we have known for many years – that we have a major challenge with truck safety and carrier compliance on Ontario highways. And the source of these problems doesn’t stem only from Ontario, but is Canada-wide. We can, and should be doing more in Ontario – like keeping enforcement scales open 24/7 – but other provinces also need to at least match these efforts.”
Of the 48,400 inspections:
- Approximately 41,000 or roughly 85% were Level 4s, with a focus on detecting and deterring illegal activity
- Approximately 34,500 were completed on Ontario-based carriers (71%)
- Approximately 12,100 were completed on carriers based in other Canadian provinces (25%)
- Approximately 1,700 were completed on carriers based outside Canada (4%)
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This is the type of “legislation” that has lead to many of the issues in the industry. Rather than penalizing every Tom, Dick and Harry, maybe help educate before enforcement is needed. Have officers go to fleets and discuss failure standards, most people are simply unaware which leads to heavy fines and upset drivers/owners who will look to skirt the bill at every corner. In all honesty this is pushing the trucking industry further into the hole in Canada, Ontario is the only one enforcing this and yet they have the most dangerous highways in Canada due to driver safety not vehicle maintenance.
The focus is simply on the wrong issue and benefiting the governments bottom line instead of boosting up the industry.
I worked in a risk management role for most of my career. I worked for two very large carriers who consistently maintained fleets who earned their reputations for exemplary fleet safety ratings and who were rarely found with any roadside defects. This was attributed to best practice driver screening, ongoing driver education, regularly scheduled thorough maintenance inspections and quality service technicians. With their industry best practice safety and maintenance programs they operated profitably and delivered for their customer’s and shareholders. With the ongoing issues that we see it’s time to get serious and remove the problem carriers.