OPSEU calls for 'immediate action' on commercial vehicle safety inspections

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is calling for immediate action to increase the number of vehicle safety inspectors.

The move comes after a report from the Ontario Auditor General which flagged that the transportation ministry had not inspected any commercial vehicles belonging to more than half of the province's 60,000 road transportation companies in the last two years.

OPSEU president Warren 'Smokey' Thomas said while ministry inspections have declined by 22 per cent since 2014, the quality of inspections has also decreased.

"It's easy to stop trucks that are a simple and clean inspection to meet ministry quantitative targets," said Thomas."But easy inspections don't take bad trucks and bad operators off the road."

According to Thomas, OPSEU's problems with the inspection process dateback many years.

"We welcome the auditor general's report on truck inspections ... she was able to highlight some stats that we could never get our hands on," said Thomas.

Thomas said one of the problems is the ministry struggles to fill vacancies in inspection positions.

How municipalities play a role

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyknoted in her report that Windsor, Ont. and Hamilton, Ont. have no Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) trained officers capable of conducting roadside inspections.

While municipal police would only have to conduct a small number of roadside inspections, the likelihood of needing to do so is increased in border towns, where commercial vehicles use city streets to get to an international crossing.

Windsor Police Services has several officers trained in a commercial motor vehicle course, but not on the CVSA program.

"Any enforcement actions requiring the certification of CVSA is done in conjunction with our community partners at the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO)," said Sgt. Steve Betteridge.

According to OPSEU's Edie Strachan, CMV training includes working with air brakes and log sheets. CVSA certification includes learning North American standards for inspection, and also allows officers to put a commercial vehicle out of service, or take it off the roads.

Thomas said if municipal officers were trained, they would need provincial authority because the offences are highway traffic act offences.

"Municipalities are stretched to the limit as it is," said Thomas. "The best system is one run by the province with provincial inspectors. They can stop any vehicle on any road at any time."

Overall, Thomas said he hopes the government pays attention to the auditor general report and the union's call for action.

"That will make the highways safer for the people of Ontario," said Thomas. "One death is one too many."