Nova Scotia company penalized $50,000 for failing to maintain a safe vehicle

HALIFAX (Feb. 5, 2001) – For the first time, a company has received a fine under Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to maintain a motor vehicle.

A.W. Leil Cranes and Equipment Ltd. of Thorburn, N.S., pleaded guilty last Thursday in Halifax provincial court to permitting one of its tractor-trailers to be operated with faulty brakes and failing to ensure it was safe to operate before being driven on a public highway.

The company was fined $20,000, and agreed to spend $15,000 to advertise its conviction and promote vehicle safety, as well as donate $15,000 to provincially sponsored highway safety programs.

The charge stemmed from a September 1997 accident that killed the 38-year-old driver of the vehicle, Allan MacLean. MacLean lost control of the tractor-trailer when its brakes failed while descending a steep hill.

The day of the accident, MacLean and other employees complained to the company about problems with the truck’s brakes. A mechanic hired by the firm was ordered to fix only a specific problem with one of the tractor’s two drive axles. A subsequent investigation showed that only three of the vehicle’s eight brakes were functioning properly when the accident occurred later that day.