FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2005
Ontario truck
inspections saved 122 lives last year: union
TORONTO – Roadside inspections
of commercial trucks saved 122 lives, avoided 1,951 injuries,
and prevented 2,846 crashes in Ontario last year, the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union says.
The union based its calculation
on a 2004 study commissioned by the Michigan Truck Safety
Commission. The study concluded that for every 1,000 truck
inspections, 0.86 lives are saved, 19.97 crashes are avoided,
and 13.69 injuries are prevented. The Ministry of
Transportation of Ontario conducted 143,000 roadside
inspections last year.
The Michigan study has added
fuel to a campaign by Transportation Enforcement Officers (TEOs)
to boost the number of staff – and hence, inspections –
performed in Ontario.
“A large number of unsafe
trucks are not being caught by the current inspection system,”
said Joe Daniel, president of Local 506 of the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union and a TEO in Aurora. “Statistics from
the Ministry of Transportation indicate that Ontario had a
19.5 per cent out-of-service rate for unsafe commercial motor
vehicles during announced roadside inspections. Yet during
unannounced blitzes, the average out-of-service rate is 41.5
per cent.
“What that says is that the
province could double the number of truck inspections and
still not catch every unsafe truck.”
Ontario has lost approximately
70 TEOs to attrition, as the McGuinty government has failed to
fill the vacant positions, Daniel said.
“The Premier has a choice: save
money, or save lives,” said Daniel. “We are telling him to
fill those positions now.”
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For more information:
Joe Daniel: (416) 845-6849
(cell)
John O’Brien: (807) 628-4364 (cell)
Randy Robinson: (416) 448-7441 or (416) 788-9134 (cell)
