By: Jag Dhatt
In early April, Burnaby RCMP and the CVSE (Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement) handed out a staggering number of tickets to commercial vehicles over a period of two days. Setting up an impromptu inspection in the Burnaby area, the RCMP handed out over 70 tickets, which was more than the number of trucks stopped.
Of the commercial vehicles stopped, 67% of them (or 56 vehicles) were “unfit for the roadway” and thus were ordered to either have them repaired by a mobile technician on site, or have them towed. RCMP state that most of these tickets could have been avoided by doing a proper pre-trip vehicle inspection.
What is really shocking, according to the RCMP, is that the problem of safety in commercial vehicles doesn’t seem to be improving. In Fall of 2021, the RCMP and CVSE grounded roughly the same percentage of commercial vehicles, with over 190 violation tickets given.
“There is no reason why a proper pre-trip inspection shouldn’t and can’t be done,” says one driver who wanted to remain anonymous. “I do one before every trip, as we are supposed to do. This way, we reduce the chances of having an incident on highways or city roads.” The driver added that some drivers do a quick inspection and because of this, miss some crucial checks of their commercial vehicles.
Burnaby RCMP and the CVSE emphasize that conducting a proper pre-trip inspection is not only safer for the general public, but easier on the wallet. And although it seems like commercial vehicles are safe, such impromptu inspections show that our roadways aren’t as safe as they should be and much needs to be improved still.
