A number of agencies took part in a commercial motor vehicle inspection in Port Hope on Wednesday, July 22 ,2020.
The inspection took place at the MTO yards just north of Highway 401 on County Road 28 for most of the day.
Participating in the enforcement were members of the Northumberland OPP, Peterborough OPP, OPP Highway Safety Division and Ministry of Transportation Enforcement Officers.
Northumberland OPP Constable Kevin McAllister said a “numerous violations” were found in several commercial motor vehicles during inspections.
A commercial motor vehicle from First Response Landscaping had the license plates removed from the vehicle after several safety infractions were found.
Some of the infractions were inoperative parking brake, two broken leaf springs, overweight, and a flat tire.
Other commercial motor vehicles also had infractions including no tread on tires, windshield washers working improperly and improper lights.
First Response Landscaping owner Jordan Stevenson said he was aware of the enforcement taking place and thought his vehicle was in compliance.
Stevenson said being a relatively new company, the commercial motor vehicle that had the license plates removed was the companies first dump truck.
“We found out we were not in compliance with a number of different regulations.”
The vehicle was purchased in June 2020 when it was given and passed a safety inspection in the London area.
But after a inspection by MTO and OPP officers, Stevenson found out there were, “a number of very dangerous defects on the truck.”
Taking it all in stride, Stevenson says, “they’re just doing their job making sure we are all safe.”
“At the end of the day, I’m quite glad that they were the ones that caught the defects.”
Northumberland/Peterborough South MPP David Piccini stopped by to witness the inspections taking place in the morning.
Piccini was very grateful for the officers, for “doing really important work keeping folks on the road safe.”
Piccini said he learned a lot about braking systems for commercial motor vehicles during his time at the inspection area.
“It’s educational, it’s information and it keeps our roads safe.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
