TORONTO – The Ontario government will close three truck inspection facilities in October and transfer enforcement personnel to "higher volume" sites within the province.

The closures are, in part, a response to a scathing review of the MTO’s roadside enforcement record in 2008 by the province’s Auditor General.

Former highwaySTAR editor Jim Park (and still a Today’s Trucking contributor) reports at Truckinginfo.com that the facilities slated to be shuttered are the Sarnia North site, on the westbound lanes of Hwy. 402; the Winona Stoney Creek site, located on the Niagara-bound lanes of the QEW; as well as the Fort Erie site, also on the QEW.

All three sites are very close or en route to U.S. border points.

MTO spokesman Bob Nichols told Park that the facilities are "low priority" sites and many of the trucks passing through them could be inspected at other stations relatively nearby.

The Fort Erie site, for example, is only 45 minutes away from the Vineland truck inspection station, which can accommodate the extra volume.

Nichols says the number of enforcement officers will not change. They are simply being moved "where traffic demand warrants."

In 2008, the Office of the Auditor General reported that despite $35 million spent on truck enforcement, commercial vehicle inspections dropped dramatically in the five years prior.

According to the report, only three out of every 1,000 commercial trucks were subject to a roadside inspection.

The OAG specifically criticized the lack of hours of operation at many facilities, especially at nighttime, weekends, and holidays.

By transferring staff to "priority sites," the MTO we will be able to operate more hours through a 24hr period, says Nichols.

Not only will the move not affect trucking’s constantly improving compliance record, Nichols suggests it will likely help increase the level of safety on the highway.