TORONTO, — The Ontario Minister of Transportation says there seems to be a clear problem with the rental industry’s safety standards as enforcement officers took 74 rental trucks off the road in a blitz earlier this month.

A month long Ministry of Transportation inspection blitz of rental trucks and trailers found that one in nine rental trucks inspected was not safe enough to be on the road.

“The industry has a public responsibility to make sure every one of its rental trucks are up to standard. Rental truck companies will need to explain how they intend to do more frequent inspections and repairs,” Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar said. “This is about public safety, and making sure consumers are protected.”

Ministry staff met with members of the truck rental industry to insist on a thorough plan of repairs and inspections to improve the safety of their vehicles.

The province conducted random inspections of 14 truck rental companies across Ontario between July 11 and August 5, 2005. A total of 693 vehicles were randomly inspected at rental companies. Of those, 74 were taken out of service for mechanical defects — primarily with brakes, lighting and steering.

“We will be more aggressive with random roadside and site inspections. We’re putting the industry on notice — clean up your act, or your rental trucks will be taken off the road.”

MTO and provincial police will continue random truck and trailer inspections both at roadside and at rental company sites across Ontario.