OPP targeting unsafe trucks on day honouring road crash victims
Posted November 15, 2017 6:21 am.
Last Updated November 15, 2017 6:08 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ontario provincial police are cracking down on unsafe trucks and their drivers Wednesday, which coincides with the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims.
The commercial vehicle safety blitz is being conducted on Highway 401.
According to the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, which oversees the initiative, five people on average die on Canada’s roads each year.
The day is a “solemn reminder of the often preventative nature of these tragedies. When it comes to driving, avoidable actions can save lives,” the event’s website states.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said 291 people have been killed on Ontario highways so far this year.
That number includes the three people who were killed in a fiery crash on the Highway 400 near Barrie last month. It is believed a transport truck slammed into vehicles, including two fuel tankers, slowing in the area because of an earlier collision.
Days before the crash, OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes expressed concerns about a spike in crashes involving transport trucks and put truck drivers “on notice” for being inattentive behind the wheel.
At the time, the OPP said since Jan. 1, there have been more than 5,000 transport-truck-related collisions that have left 67 people dead.
The day after the crash, Hawkes said the trucking industry should take a close look at the way it conducts business.
Related stories:
Transport truck safety called into question after Hwy. 400 crash
OPP identify 2nd person killed in fiery Hwy. 400 crash
‘Driver inattention’ at root of 3 deadly transport truck crashes: OPP
