Industry prepares for image attack after wheel-off incident

TORONTO (April 4, 2002) — The trucking industry may be bracing itself for another public relations setback after a set of dual tires came off a tanker truck in Toronto yesterday, smashing into a bus shelter and injuring two people-one of whom is in critical condition.

Toronto Traffic Services constable Larry Zimmerman, who is investigating the incident, said the tires flew off the Newmarket, Ont.-based Dick Marshall Fuels truck because several bolts holding the wheel assembly together snapped off. The bolts may have been rusted through.

One wheel bounced down Finch towards Sentinel Rd., mounting a curb and knocking down a signpost before clipping the front bumper of a Mazda MPV. The other smashed through the glass shelter, severely injuring two men. One is in serious condition with multiple fractures and the other is in critical condition with massive head and internal injuries.

Zimmerman said the driver was initially taken into custody for failing to remain at the scene, but was released when it was determined the driver was not aware of what occurred until flagged down by another motorist. It doesn’t appear that the driver will be charged, as the investigation cleared him of not doing a proper pre-trip inspection. Zimmerman confirmed it would have been extremely difficult to detect the problem with a simple visible inspection. However, he did not rule out charges against the carrier, as the investigation is still ongoing.

Penalties for wheel-offs in Ontario are the sternest in the country, ranging as high as $50,000. The penalties were set after two high-profile fatalities in 1995.

During those years, the trucking industry was forced to defend itself against sensational mainstream media and anti-truck lobby group reports that unfairly characterized the industry as unsafe. In yesterday’s incident, one Toronto newspaper quoted area residents as saying the accident was predictable and “it happens a lot of the time, these trucks go crazy.” Zimmerman confirmed, that as far as he’s aware, this is the first such incident in the area, and doesn’t recall ever being called to the area for any other major type of truck-related accidents.

“We’ve been getting dozens of calls all day from the mainstream media who are only looking for the sensational side of the story,” said Ontario Trucking Association communications manager Rebecka Torn, who added it’s only a matter of time before groups like Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways (CRASH) use this isolated incident to paint the whole industry with the same brush. “It would be nothing but pure speculation for the media to again start making comments of all the things that need to be changed (with the industry), which unfortunately, is really all they’re looking for.”