Commercial Vehicle Safety Crack Down This Summer

PROVINCE TARGETS UNSAFE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

The Province’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) branch, in co-operation with local law enforcement, will be out in strength this summer to ensure commercial vehicles operating on Vancouver Island are meeting safety standards, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Shirley Bond announced today.

“This summer’s focused enforcement on Vancouver Island by our ministry’s CVSE staff is part of increased roadside enforcement right across the province,” said Bond. “We want to raise awareness in the commercial transport industry about safety on the roads, and that we expect safety standards to be met.”
 
CVSE inspectors will be targeting load security issues and the mechanical condition of commercial vehicles, including long haul trucks, local taxis and farm vehicles. The results of these roadside inspections are used to identify trends in mechanical maintenance, which may result in increased focus on some Designated Inspection Facilities and commercial businesses.
 
The Province has recently introduced amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act to provide greater oversight of the vehicle inspection process. With these amendments, it is easier for CVSE to cancel the designation of a facility or inspector for improper conduct and also allows inspectors to immediately seize the vehicle’s licence plates for if critical defects are found.
 
Critical defects focus on the steering system, brakes, tires, wheels and rims. They are defects that:

• Clearly affect safe operation of a vehicle.
• Should have been detected by the drivers during their pre-trip inspection.
• Cannot normally be repaired at the side of the road and indicative of ongoing poor maintenance.

Enforcement will take place on major highways and companion roads on Vancouver Island. There are almost 200 CVSE field staff throughout B.C. who carry out more than 20,000 roadside vehicle inspections a year.