More than $36,000 in fines were also issued
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Edmonton police pulled 110 commercial vehicles off the road for failing to meet a number of safety compliance regulations during its three-day fall inspection event last week.
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Police said 46 per cent of vehicles inspected were taken out of service during the event.
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The inspections took place Sept. 13-15 with the Edmonton Police Service, along with its municipal and provincial partners, holding their fall commercial vehicle check where they completed 238 inspections.
Police said 69 of those vehicles passed an inspection while 110 were placed out of service. Police said that 15 vehicles were towed due to their dangerous condition and 551 violations were found over the three-day operation.
More than $36,000 in fines were issued, police said.
The EPS highlighted one inspection where a load of pipe hauled by a semi shifted and struck the back of the tractor’s cab.
“This particular incident shows how difficult it can be to secure a large load and how dangerous it can become for the driver and surrounding motorists when a load is not secured properly,” said Const. Trevor Henderson with the CVIU in a Thursday news release.
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“Regular commercial vehicle inspections help to prevent these situations and make the roads safer for all drivers.”
During a similar three-day inspection in May, the EPS placed 113 commercial vehicles out of service and towed another 17 due to their dangerous driving condition.
The 2022 inspection event ran May 10-12 with police inspecting 263 commercial vehicles. Police said 733 violations were found and 86 vehicles passed the inspection.
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Commercial vehicle inspections promote road safety: EPS, Sheriffs
Sgt. Dave Beattie, in charge of the EPS commercial vehicle investigation in May, told Postmedia he has been a police officer for nearly 25 years and said conducting inspections helps keep dangerous commercial vehicles off the road and can stop a major highway collision before it happens.
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“If anything sticks in my mind, it’s knocking on someone’s door at 3 o’clock in the morning and them seeing the uniform and their face drops because they know why you’re there,” said Beattie.
“Every time you find a vehicle and there’s something wrong with it that’s significantly dangerous to the public, you think to yourself that’s one less visit that a police officer doesn’t have to make.”
Beattie added the inspections are not about enforcement, they are about making sure Alberta roads are safe for all users.
Almost two years ago, a 36-year-old Edmonton teacher was killed after her minivan was struck by an object that dislodged from a semi-tractor.
Investigators determined the crash occurred when a semi was driving west on Lessard Road when an eight-wheel converter dolly separated from it, moved across the road into oncoming traffic and hit the driver’s side of the minivan.
Meghan Weis, an Edmonton Catholic Schools teacher, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to court records, Nisku-based Rene Transport Ltd. was fined $24,000 in relation to the crash for not maintaining the equipment or safety system in good working order as laid out in the Traffic Safety Act.
