Nearly half the vehicle’s stopped by the DPD’s dedicated Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) unit in January required a full inspection, and many were immediately taken out of service.
As Delta is a hub for large truck traffic, commercial vehicle enforcement is an ongoing priority for the Delta Police Department. Two dedicated officers — both qualified vehicle inspectors under the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)’s international standards — make up the DPD’s CVE unit, and officers in the DPD’s Traffic Section receive cross-training in this skill to ensure inspections take place during all hours.
The unit focuses its enforcement efforts on heavy truck routes and areas with high numbers of commercial vehicles — such as the Scott Road corridor, Highway 17, Nordel Way and Delta’s industrial areas — checking for insecure loads and properly functioning brakes, among other defects, and verifying driver’s records.
In January of this year, the CVE unit conducted 80 roadside inspections, with nearly half of those resulting in the vehicles being required to undergo a full inspection.
“Many of those vehicles were ordered off the road immediately,” Insp. Ryan Hall, who oversees the CVE unit, said in a press release.
CVE unit officers also conduct other related investigations. For example, while conducting an illegal dumping investigation in January, officers stopped a commercial vehicle driver and learned he was already prohibited from driving. The driver was arrested and given a court date, and the vehicle was impounded for seven days.
Less than one week later, the same driver was stopped in a different commercial vehicle and was again arrested for driving while prohibited. The commercial vehicle he was driving on that day was also impounded, and the driver received court dates for both incidents.
“Prohibited driving is a criminal code offence, and can result in jail time,” Hall said. “Subsequent prohibited driving charges can result in lengthy driving prohibitions, meaning the driver might not be legally permitted to drive for years. This can significantly impact someone’s employment prospects.”
The unit’s officers also attend crashes and other incidents involving commercial trucks.
On Feb. 3, a traffic control person working roadside at a construction site was sent to hospital after being by a bolt that sheered off from a wheel of a loaded dump truck. Two of the truck’s wheels also rolled across three lanes of traffic, luckily without hitting anyone else.
1) Imagine getting hit by this as it comes flying off a dump truck tire? That’s what happened to a traffic control person in Delta today, who is now recovering in hospital. At least nobody got hit by the two tires that also went flying off the truck. pic.twitter.com/ebc5eCzH4f
— Delta Police Traffic Unit (@DPDTraffic) February 4, 2021
CVE unit officers attended the scene and found several other defects on the suspect vehicle. The truck was immediately removed from the public roadway, issued $500 in fines and ordered to undergo a full inspection. The flag person is expected to make a full recovery.
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This collision on River Road involving two semi-tractors fortunately did not result in any injuries, however Delta police issued both trucks inspection notices post collision. (Delta Police Department photo)
