ORILLIA, Ont. – Provincial police say they laid nearly 700 charges against transport truck drivers during a day-long blitz on Ontario’s roads last week.
Police partnered with the Ministry of Transportation and stopped a total of 1,692 trucks over the 24-hour period on June 13 and 14.
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They say that of the 697 charges they laid, 226 were for speeding and 176 were for defective equipment.
Officers also laid 28 charges for distracted driving.
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Other charges included failing to wear a seatbelt, making an unsafe lane change and carrying an insecure load.
“We have had a 25 per cent increase in commercial vehicle fatalities this year compared to last year” Schmidt said.
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“Twenty-five fatal collisions involving transport trucks and over 3000 collisions across the province already this year. That is just another amplifier to realize that we do need to make sure all truckers that are driving these vehicles well in excess of 80,000 lbs need to be held accountable.”
Police say they took 63 trucks out of service as a result of the blitz.
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With files from Erica Vella.
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