Worth the Drive to Action: Halton crackdown precursor to CVSA blitz

MILTON, Ont. — Attention, all truckers who haul in and around the Ontario towns of Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Acton, Georgetown, Halton Hill and all points in between: The local cops are cracking down on unfit rigs.

In May, the Halton Regional Police staged their own mini-blitz, pulled a baker’s dozen trucks over, directed them to the nearby Mohawk Raceway Property, and gave them the once over.

Thirteen out of the 13 were tagged OSS, and the cops laid 39 separate charges. Most of the safety infractions involved brakes and weight offences.

"We’re not happy with these results and we’re taking action right away," Halton Regional Insp. Bill Ford was quoted in a local newspaper as saying. "Truckers in Halton can expect tougher, stronger enforcement from Halton Regional Police," he added.

A spokesman for the Region told todaystrucking.com that the Halton constabulary’s responsible for patrolling all the non-400-series roads in the region, which sits to the west and north or Toronto.

The Region is also upgrading its truck enforcement squad by training 14 additional officers in the field of truck safety.

Starting tomorrow, though, all truckers in Canada and the U.S. will have to be more vigilant making sure their equipment is in proper shape.

Tuesday, June 2, Roadcheck 2009 kicks off. The annual 72-hour, CVSA-sponsored safety blitz is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world, with about "14 trucks or buses being inspected, on average, every minute from Canada to Mexico."