Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021:
Brake Safety Week sidelines 4,300 trucks
Commercial vehicle inspectors sidelined approximately 4,300 trucks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico for brake-related violations as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Brake Safety Week held this summer.
Inspectors across North America conducted 35,764 commercial vehicle inspections during the week-long enforcement blitz held Aug. 22-28. Fifty Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, and Mexico’s National Guard and Ministry of Communications and Transportation participated in this year’s Brake Safety Week, which is a voluntary initiative.
The out-of-service rate related to brakes in the U.S. was 13.5% out of the 28,694 commercial motor vehicles inspected (3,874 trucks). In Canada, 1,903 commercial motor vehicles were inspected with a brake-related out-of-service rate of 15.4% (293 trucks). And in Mexico, 5,167 inspections were conducted with a brake-specific out-of-service rate of 2.6% (134 trucks).
In total, 12% of the 35,764 trucks inspected were placed out-of-service for brake-related violations.
Additionally, inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. recorded 5,667 brake hose chafing violations, which are a common brake-related violation, whether out-of-service or not. Inspectors reported brake hose chafing violations in five different categories, illustrating levels of chafing severity, including two which are out-of-service conditions, and submitted that data to CVSA.
[Related: More than 6K trucks, 2K drivers sidelined during annual Roadcheck blitz]
Canadian province looking to require bathroom access for truckers
The Ontario government Wednesday announced its intentions to introduce legislation that, if passed, would mandate washroom access for truck drivers at businesses where they are picking up and delivering.
The legislation is the result of consultations conducted by the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee that have indicated that truck drivers, couriers and others are often denied use of a washroom at businesses they serve.
“This is something most people in Ontario take for granted, but access to washrooms is a matter of common decency currently being denied to hundreds of thousands of workers in this province,” said Ontario Minister of Labor, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton. “Workers who deliver and pick up goods have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, ensuring that essential supplies continue to reach the people of Ontario. Providing these hardworking men and women with access to washrooms is a small change that will make a big difference, so they can do their jobs with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
The Ontario Trucking Association strongly supports the proposed legislation.
“Our province’s truck drivers deserve our respect, our support, our thanks and our best efforts to help them do their jobs so Ontarians can put food on our tables and have access to the goods we need,” said OTA President and CEO Stephen Laskowski. “We are encouraged this announcement will give truck drivers access to the necessary facilities wherever they may be working.”
[Related: The more essential I'm gettin', the stinkier I get]
