A defective truck and trailer caught by police three times in three different cities points to the importance of a coordinated regional approach to commercial vehicle enforcement, according to one Burnaby Mountie.
Const. Kevin Connolly, the officer who heads up commercial vehicle inspections and enforcement in Burnaby, was in Delta last Wednesday as part of a joint forces enforcement blitz when he encountered a truck and trailer he’d seen before.
“The truck had defective brakes, so I placed the truck out of service. It also had insecure cargo and insecure dangerous goods,” Connolly told the NOW.
The trailer had problems too, according to Connolly.
Custom-built ramps blocked the brake lights and turn signals, so drivers behind the trailer wouldn’t be warned before the vehicle stopped or turned.
Connolly ordered the truck and trailer out of service, telling the driver they wouldn’t be allowed back on the road until the problems were fixed.
The trailer was towed, but because the driver didn’t want the truck towed, he called in a mechanic who spent much of the day fixing it at the scene, according to Connolly.
Connolly said the same driver had been ordered to fix problems with the truck and trailer before – first during an enforcement blitz in Burnaby and then one in Surrey.
“The driver did not comply,” Connolly said.
Multiple police agencies around the Lower Mainland coordinate joint commercial vehicle enforcements around the region, and Connolly said the defective truck and trailer are a good example of the importance of that approach.
“Here we have this vehicle that is a danger to roadway in three different cities,” he said. “As a result of our knowledge and our past history, we can take a more appropriate approach each time to the driver i.e. consequences, tickets, choosing if we give any leeway or any time to fix things based on that pattern of behaviour.”
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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