Truck crackdown a success: OPP chief

AURORA, Ont. — The Ontario Provincial Police, working with Ministry of Transportation enforcement officers, laid nearly 1,217 charges against truckers under the Highway Traffic Act last month — nearly 1,000 of those violations for speeding.

The MTO inspected 6,261 commercial vehicles across the province at roadside, laying 1,365 charges and placed 1,850 vehicles in an unfit condition and removed them from service.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said the crackdown on commercial vehicles throughout February was a huge success.

“OPP officers did an outstanding job of identifying aggressive truckers and those who were travelling too fast for road and weather conditions,” Fantino said. “Hopefully, this crackdown will encourage commercial operators to slow down, stop driving so aggressively, and make the province’s roads safer for all motorists.”

Most of the truckers charged by the OPP
were speeding, says Chief Fantino.

The good news, though, is that despite record snowfalls in Ontario in February, the number of fatalities on roads patrolled by the OPP is down from the same time in 2007.

“One death is one too many,” Fantino said, “I hope the downward trend continues throughout the rest of the year.”

While the February initiative was aimed at commercial vehicles, the OPP was also on the lookout for other motorists who were driving too fast, driving aggressively or not driving to suit road or weather conditions. The OPP laid 631 charges for failing to move over when an emergency vehicle was stopped on the shoulder of the road with its lights activated.

“We have high fines and tough truck safety laws to protect motorists and pedestrians,” Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said. “That is one of the reasons that, year-in, year-out, Ontario’s road network is ranked among the safest in North America.”