CRASH Newsletter
June/July, 1999

Truck Safety Defects Indicate Need for Greater Safety Efforts

The lack of significant reduction in the percentage of trucks with safety defects means that efforts to enforce trucking safety compliance must be stepped up.  Following are highlights of the June 1-3, 1999, cross-Canada Roadcheck truck safety inspection released by government safety regulators:

• Twenty-three per cent of big trucks inspected across Canada were ordered out of service for safety defects compared to 24 per cent last year, but it appears the percentage of trucks with defects serious enough to require repairs on site or be towed away increased.
   

• Prince Edward Island (36 per cent) and New Brunswick (34 per cent) were the provinces with the worst or highest safety defect rate, while Nova Scotia (12 per cent) had the best or safest big trucks in the country.
   

• Twenty-five per cent of big trucks in Ontario were ordered out of service for safety defects compared to 29 per cent last year, but it appears the number of trucks with more serious defects increased.

The real safety problem could be worse than indicated by inspections.  The June 1-3 Roadcheck inspection program was well publicized in advance, which means that the worst trucks could have been taken off the road for three days and escaped inspection.  The advance warning probably also caused a temporary improvement in compliance with hours of work limits and logbooks.

Roadcheck 99 Results

Bilan-Campagne Roadcheck 99