Police stress pre-trip inspection for commercial vehicle companies, drivers

Photo: RCMP

AS part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week, the Lower Mainland Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Group (LMDCVE) conducted targeted enforcement operations in Burnaby, Langley, and on Highway 1 in Coquitlam and Burnaby.

Police said the purpose of the initiative is to bring greater awareness for drivers and companies to ensure proper inspection and maintenance of their brakes. Brake violations were one of the LMDCVE group’s top defects noted overall in 2024.

The enforcement took place from August 25 to August 29 and here are the results:

  • 178 inspections
  • 106 commercial vehicles placed out of service
  • 510 violations identified
  • 201 violation tickets issued

The LMDCVE said 82 of the 510 violations identified were brake related and out of the 106 commercial vehicles placed out of service, 35 of them were due to brake violations. These numbers are not representative of the general condition of commercial vehicles in B.C. Only vehicles flagged by officers trained in identifying visible or potential safety defects are pulled over for further inspection.

“Based on observations from officers involved, it is apparent that companies and drivers need to place greater importance on their pre-trip inspection,” said Constable Kevin Connolly with Burnaby RCMP’s Traffic Services. “Most out of service violations identified should have been caught during a pre-trip inspection. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure their vehicle is safe to operate on the roadway. It is a company’s responsibility to ensure that pre-trip inspections are done properly and to follow up on anything identified by the driver.”

Once again, this group of Lower Mainland enforcement agencies has contributed immensely to road safety and the education of commercial vehicle drivers and companies, police said.

Agencies from the LMDCVE group that took part in this initiative:

  • Burnaby RCMP
  • BC Highway Patrol
  • Vancouver Police Commercial Vehicle Unit
  • New Westminster Police Commercial Vehicle Unit
  • Integrated Road Safety Unit
  • Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement
  • Township of Langley Bylaw Commercial Vehicle Unit
  • Surrey Bylaw Commercial Vehicle Unit
  • Coquitlam Bylaw Commercial Vehicle Unit

Burnaby Bylaws and Langley RCMP also participated in the initiative.

For more information on this North American-wide initiative, see: CVSA’s Brake Safety Week