On June 25th and 26th, a number of local and provincial law enforcement agencies conducted two commercial vehicle inspections in Lacombe and Lacombe County. Derek Lewko, Lacombe Police Service community peace officer, said that the purpose of these inspections is to promote safety on Alberta’s roadways.
“We’re just looking for proper maintenance being done, safe motor vehicles on the road and safe drivers,” said Lewko.
A check stop was set up in Lacombe County last Wednesday and within the City of Lacombe last Friday. Officers participating in the check stops checked commercial vehicles for things like proper maintenance, mechanical faults and secure loads.
Vehicle operators are also checked as part of these inspections.
Lewko said the drivers’ credentials are checked to make sure they have the proper class of license for the motor vehicles they are operating.
Lewko said that the inspections went well and were fairly routine.
A fairly even number of vehicles passed as well as were placed out of service.
“We weren’t blown away by any big surprises,” said Lewko. “Nothing really stood out for us.”
When a vehicle is placed out of service, it must be repaired before it can be driven. Vehicles that are placed out of service and cannot be repaired on site are towed to the nearest location where repairs can be performed.
If a vehicle is found to have a defect that is not critical to the vehicle’s operation or safety, it is marked as requiring attention.
Such vehicles can still be driven, but items requiring attention should be looked after as soon as possible.
Officers from several different enforcement agencies participated in the inspections. Among them were members of the City of Lacombe Bylaw Enforcement Services, Lacombe Police Service, Lacombe County Bylaw Enforcement Services, Edmonton Police Service, Alberta Justice and Solicitor General Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch, Red Deer County Patrol, Town of Blackfalds Protective Services and Town of Penhold Protective Services.
Lewko said that, between all the different agencies, about 20 officers participated in each of the inspections.
He said collaborating is essential for these check stops to occur as a lot of agencies don’t have enough certified inspection officers to handle doing such a check stop by themselves.
“It’s very important.”
During the June 25th checkstop, 90 vehicle inspections were conducted. Of the 90 inspections, 32 inspections were placed out of service, 23 required attention and 31 passed the inspection.
On June 26th, 48 commercial vehicle inspections were conducted.
Of those 48 inspections, 19 were placed out of service, 12 required attention and 17 passed the inspection.
Commercial vehicle inspections are usually performed twice a year in Lacombe and Lacombe County, said Lewko. This is the first for this year and the next will likely take place in the fall.
These check stops are held according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance guidelines (CVSA). CVSA is a program held throughout North America aimed at keeping roadways safe.