On June 8, the Department of Transportation and Public Works, Highway Safety Division, participated in the annual Canada Roadcheck in conjunction with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. For the past 20 years, the CVSA’s annual Roadcheck event dispatches federal, state, provincial and local inspectors to conduct North American Standard Inspections around the clock for 72 hours from June 5 - 7. These inspections involve a comprehensive 37-step procedure which includes items related to vehicle, driver and cargo safety. Inspectors also hand out educational materials to drivers on various aspects of commercial vehicle, driver and hazardous materials safety.
In 2006, officials inspected 117 trucks, 24 of which were classified as out-of-service, which means the vehicles were not up to national standards and were taken off the road until proper servicing was completed. This year, 122 vehicles were inspected and 14 were found to be out of service, a reduction by almost half compared to the previous year. The Minister of Transportation and Public Works, Ron MacKinley, credits the industry for its improved compliance with the standards and the work of the Highway Safety Division for the reduction of out-of-service vehicles on Island roads. “Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers with our Highway Safety Division perform random vehicle inspections year round and work with the commercial vehicle industry to make sure our Island roads are kept safe. Their work helps motivate commercial vehicle operators to comply with national standards.”
For more on the CVSA visit the website at www.cvsa.org.