Over 100 Sask. commercial vehicles pulled off road during safety inspection blitz

Saskatchewan Highway Patrol and SGI said 103 of 332 commercial vehicles were taken off the road during a 72-hour safety inspection campaign earlier this month.

The Saskatchewan Highway Patrol and SGI took almost one-third of commercial vehicles stopped at an inspection site off the road earlier this month due to unsafe operations.

A 72-hour campaign was launched just north of Saskatoon at the Langham Weigh Scale, stopping 332 commercial vehicles.

A release from the provincial government said 103 of the 332 vehicles were taken off the road due to cargo securement and brake issues and 16 drivers were removed for exceeding the hours-of-service limit, false records, licence endorsements and drug impairment.

Eighty-one additional vehicles were also found to have mechanical defects that required immediate attention.

According to the province, 148 trucks and 82 trailers passed inspection.

“Saskatchewan residents need to feel they can travel safely on our highways and removing unsafe commercial vehicles from our roads is one way we accomplish that,” said Paul Merriman, Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister. “While it is important to transport food, fuel and goods to and from communities throughout our province, we do not want that to put our residents at risk because vehicles and drivers are not meeting proper standards.”

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) coordinator Mathew Austin called the campaign a success.

“We will continue to enforce commercial trucking regulations and educate the public to improve the safety and trust of other vehicles on our roadways,” he said.