A multi-agency task force issued 27 traffic tickets to commercial drivers and operators in Lincoln Wednesday in a road safety blitz.
The vehicle enforcement project stemmed from recent collision investigations, and safety concerns raised by Lincoln town staff and community members. It sparked a multi-jurisdiction operation focusing on commercial motor vehicles in the area.
In a three-part Twitter post late Thursday, Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton called the operation’s results “shocking” and said “proof again that investment in safety is essential.”
During the operation, vehicles of concern were directed to the Lincoln Town Yard to be inspected by Niagara police and Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) Officers.
Agencies involved in the blitz included the Niagara Regional Police Traffic Enforcement Unit, 8 District Uniform Officers of the NRPS, the Halton Regional Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and MTO officers.
During the inspections, police and MTO officers looked at a variety of criteria including unsafe conditions, vehicle maintenance, logbooks, overweight issues.
In total, 53 vehicle inspections were conducted, and 27 provincial offence tickets were issued to drivers, vehicle owners and companies. These included:
- 17 out of service violations were reported, with some vehicles having multiple violations.
- Four vehicles had their licence plates removed with an ‘UNFIT’ status placed on them.
- Seven vehicles had cargo or load security violations.
- Four drivers failed to do a daily inspection of their vehicle
- Two drivers had the wrong license class for the truck they were operating.
- Seven vehicles were overweight with the highest being 3200 kg. over.
- Three vehicles were being operated in an unsafe manner.