The Lethbridge Police Service is teaming up with several organizations to patrol southern Alberta roads in search of unsafe trucks.
“Priority is on the checking and inspecting of commercial vehicles to ensure compliance with the safety regulations to make sure that they are safe to be on the road,” said Const. Stewart Seefried.
The annual three-day inspection began in Lethbridge on Tuesday. After one day, police said they had seen 116 vehicles. The results show that 81 per cent of those vehicles failed the inspection and 67 per cent were taken off the road. That’s a two per cent rise from last year’s findings.
“It’s alarming that you can pull that many vehicles off the road in one day and find that many vehicles that shouldn’t be on the road,” Seefried said.
So far this year, he added, the numbers are noticeably larger than average statistics found over the last several years.
“The general standard is roughly a third pass, a third fail and require attention but can still finish their day, and then a third generally are deemed out of service.”
Although there’s a large number of factors in play that would warrant a commercial vehicle unsafe, police said the most common infractions include incorrect cargo securement and defective or inefficient braking systems.
A driver who was pulled in for these routine inspections said checking these elements before each journey is pivotal for everyone’s safety.
LISTEN: Alberta Motor Transport Association director Andrew Barnes discusses the results of the Lethbridge-area checkstop
“It’s really important because you’re hauling dangerous goods, and not just dangerous goods but any other trucking too,” said Keith Hann, a driver with Praxair. “With the size of these trucks compared to other vehicles, safety is really important.”
The three-day commercial vehicle checkstop is set to wrap up in Lethbridge on Thursday afternoon.