27 unsafe trucks pulled off road during police safety blitz in Mississauga

Twenty-seven unsafe trucks were pulled off the road and 71 charges laid as police and transportation ministry officials conducted a one-day commercial vehicle safety blitz on Tuesday in Mississauga.

Peel Regional Police, who carried out the latest in a series of regular truck safety checks alongside ministry inspectors, OPP and other GTA police forces, said in a post to social media on Thursday they inspected 72 vehicles in total.

Of those, 27 trucks, or more than one-third, were removed from the roads and highways because they were deemed unsafe and a danger to the drivers and other motorists.

In addition to the 71 charges laid, five sets of licence plates were seized, police noted.

Police in Peel and across the GTA have said too many commercial trucks continue to travel in unsafe condition on roads and highways and it’s posing a danger to both truck drivers and other motorists.

As the warmer weather arrives, similar and much larger-scale truck safety blitzes will again be conducted in the coming weeks and months by Peel police, OPP and transportation ministry officials in addition to other police agencies across the GTA and southern Ontario.

Videos

Read More

Large vehicles will be checked on both city/regional roads in addition to GTA highways.

Similar safety blitzes carried out last year led to numerous charges and trucks being pulled off the roads.

Peel police run numerous truck inspection safety blitzes throughout the year in Mississauga and Brampton in an effort to spread the safety message and penalize offenders. In some cases, when necessary, cops take the trucks off the road.

The Peel police officers taking part in commercial vehicle safety blitzes are specially trained to carry out “level one” mechanical inspections that include checking under the vehicle for any safety issues.

At last count, Peel police had a team of 12 to 14 road safety officers trained and certified to inspect trucks for safety issues.

Team members look for any issues with things such as steering, brakes and tires, the body and frame of the truck, suspensions, load security and they also do visual inspections underneath the vehicles.