OTTAWA — Eighty percent of Canadian commercial vehicles inspected during the annual CVSA Roadcheck campaign last month were deemed safe by the truck cops.

Over the 72-hour roadside inspection blitz, 7,311 vehicles and drivers at 158 sites across the country underwent full inspections for mechanical and driver fitness.

In total, 1,434 trucks, 29 passenger-carrying vehicles and 199 drivers were placed out of service for various safety defects and violations.

Although slightly higher than last year’s figure of 17.8 percent, this year’s average vehicle OOS rate of 20 percent continues an overall downward trend over the past several years, says the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.

In many cases, drivers were able to make the necessary adjustments on site, are re-inspected and continue on their way.

A total of 2.7 percent of drivers were placed out of service for logbook, driver qualification or paperwork problems, a slight improvement over 2009, when 95 percent of drivers were in compliance.

Not surprisingly, the large majority of inspections were conducted in Ontario. Over 2700 trucks were checked with 597 (21%) placed out of service, higher than the 16.7 percent reported in 2009. Only 85 drivers (3.1%) were taken off the road.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were two another provinces that had a notable uptick in truck OOS rates compared to 2009 (17.8% to 23%; and 9.4% to 17%, respectively).

Quebec showed a marked improvement in OOS with only 11.5 percent of the 677 trucks checked being placed OOS. That’s down from the 16.2 percent OOS rate last year.

New Brunswick, which had the highest OOS rate last year at nearly 28 percent dropped down to 20 percent. PEI also dropped from 11 percent to 6.7 percent, the lowest in the country.

B.C. and Alberta, which in recent years have posted some of the highest OOS rates, remained at over 20 percent. Although Alberta dropped to 24.8 percent from 27.7, while B.C. increased to 24.6 percent from 21. 7.

Brake-related defects continue to account for close to half of all OOS violations, leading enforcement officials to encourage carriers and drivers alike to take an active part in the upcoming CVSA 2010 Brake Safety Week planned for September 12-18.