Crackdown on Commercial Vehicles

THUNDER BAY – NEWS – Despite giving advance notice, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) stopped close to 3,500 commercial motor vehicles (CMV), laid 1,836 charges and took 71 unsafe CMVs out of service during their provincial Operation Safe Trucking initiative last week (December 11-15, 2017).

During the blitz, the OPP covertly conducted highway patrol from transport trucks, giving the officers an improved vantage point and helping them lay 223 distracted driving charges against CMV drivers.

OPP aircraft and sprinter vans were also used for enforcement, providing an enhanced view of aggressive CMV drivers. Speeding accounted for 336 of the charges, 111 were the result of Follow Too Close and an additional 185 charges were laid for other moving violations.

A number of CMVs were found to have defective equipment, making up 185 of the charges. Improper documentation saw the highest number of CMV charges (537). More than 600 hours of inspections were conducted alongside one of the OPP’s most valued road safety partners, the Ministry of Transportation.

When CMV drivers were not drawing the OPP’s attention, officers spotted a number of passenger vehicles whose drivers were charged with various violations such as distracted driving and speeding.

“Our Operation Safe Trucking enforcement results are the latest reminder that more work needs to be done to reduce the serious public safety risks posed by some commercial motor vehicle drivers. As expected, our officers noted that the vast majority of CMV drivers were operating their trucks in a safe manner during this initiative. The OPP would like to thank these (and other) drivers who contribute to safe roads and help save lives,” says Commissioner J.V.N. (Vince) HAWKES, Ontario Provincial Police.

Operation Safe Trucking is the latest initiative to support the OPP CMV Collision Mitigation Strategy, the goal of which is to reduce the number of CMV collisions on OPP-patrolled roads.