Over half of commercial vehicles inspected during 3-day blitz deemed unsafe: EPS

A three-day enforcement blitz on commercial vehicles in Edmonton has resulted in more than half of the inspected vehicles being pulled off the road.

Edmonton police, along with municipal and provincial inspectors, examined 162 commercial vehicles during the operation last week. Eighty-five of those vehicles were deemed to be “out of service” for a variety of safety issues, with 20 of them being considered so dangerous that they were towed from the inspection sites.”The results are similar to years gone by.”

“The results are similar to years gone by,” said Sgt. Kerry Bates with the Edmonton Police Sevice but added the service shouldn’t be seeing as many infractions as they are.

“It relates to poor maintenance,” said Bates. “As well, drivers not doing the daily checks they should be doing.”

Police said one three-tonne cube truck was traveling on broken leaf springs which were precariously attached to the rear axle. That vehicle was taken off the road.

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Gerry Shimko with the City of Edmonton’s Traffic Safety Section said the city is working with area businesses to make safety a number one priority as part of Edmonton’s Vision Zero, a long-term goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

“Vision Zero is about family and everybody leaving and coming home safely,” Shimko said. “There’s an opportunity for us to work with industry and corporations to potentially improve this through a vision-zero lens.”

But the issue isn’t just in the city of Edmonton, it’s across Canada.

Last week, Vancouver police said more than half of the commercial vehicles checked during a road-safety blitz were so badly maintained they were immediately ordered off the road. Seventy-five trucks were checked Tuesday and 40 had to be taken out of service, while drivers of the remaining 35 rigs were ticketed for at least one infraction.

READ MORE: Over half of trucks fail safety check in Vancouver

In Edmonton, police told Global News that although the numbers are alarming, everyday drivers shouldn’t be concerned.

“The people that should be really concerned are the commercial carriers that aren’t doing their job properly,” Bates said.

Inspectors found a total of 459 defects over the three-day operation, issuing 101 tickets. One driver was given a 24-hour suspension for possessing marijuana.

Only 47 vehicles were found to have no defects.

With files from Quinn Ohler