The truck technician plays a pivotal role in ensuring the trucks and trailers we all share the roads with are safe. Particularly those charged with conducting annual safety inspections and affixing the stickers that prove to enforcement officers, at a glance, that the piece of equipment it’s attached to is theoretically in sound condition.
I recently wrote a deep reaching investigative piece about a scheme in Ontario and Illinois that saw FMCSA safety inspection decals attached to visibly unsafe Ontario-based trucks and trailers that were clearly unfit for the road.
I’ve waited for a call from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Maybe the O.P.P. Hell, perhaps even the FMSCA or FBI, given the United States connection. Nothing but silence and I’m told that operation continues to operate with impunity, putting all us road users at great risk.
That’s not to say I haven’t heard from anyone on the topic of improperly issued safety inspection decals, allegedly awarded in exchange for cash, with no legally mandated safety inspection of the actual equipment being conducted.
I’ve heard from readers right across this country who tell me this issue isn’t isolated to Ontario. One such reader, who asked I not share his name, bought a trailer for storage at a Manitoba auction in October.
The side rails were badly corroded, the type of damage that occurs over years. Yet, what’s this? A freshly attached safety inspection decal from the province of Alberta?
The “safety” expired in July and the rotting trailer was sold at auction in October.
“The side rails have tremendous corrosion that would take a lot more than a year to develop, unless maybe someone dumped buckets of acid on it,” the buyer told me. And it wasn’t the first time he’s purchased a badly damaged trailer at auction for storage that came with a freshly attached annual inspection decal (see photos).
“Rest assured, the box has been turned into a storage shed to never ever be on a public road again,” this reader told me of his latest purchase.
That’s well and good, but it’s startling that equipment in such poor condition is still being safetied by “professional” licensed mechanics who are willing to put their livelihood at stake for a few bucks on the side.
Where is the oversight of the various provinces’ annual safety inspection programs? Here’s a suggestion: Require the mechanic to attach their name to any safety inspection decal they issue. Include the name of the shop as well. Let’s make it super easy for enforcement agencies charged with overseeing these programs to identify and track down the bad actors.
Let’s root them out. When a roadside enforcement officer comes across a trailer with badly corroded side rails, let’s give them, not just the authority but the encouragement, to call on that mechanic. Demand the inspection documentation. Examine the pictures. Visit the shop and see if it: A) actually exists; and B) is operating above board.
Alberta recently cracked down on fraudulent activity in the trucking industry, shutting down five training schools and 13 carriers. The closures came after a six-month investigation that uncovered fraudulent reporting and record keeping, Devin Dreeshen, transportation and economic corridors minister, told Today’s Trucking.
It’s a good start. Now, how about looking into how badly corroded trailers such as the one pictured above have obtained a safety inspection as recently as 15 months ago?
Credit: Source link
