Roadcheck 2004

More than 85 per cent of heavy trucks randomly checked during an around-the-clock inspection blitz this week passed the toughest on-road inspection standards. That's up nearly four per cent over the previous year.

Provincial vehicle compliance officers were on the job night and day from Tuesday, June 8 to today, June 10, inspecting heavy trucks at the inbound Amherst scale house, as part of this year's international Roadcheck event.

"Roadcheck gives Nova Scotians a snapshot of roadside safety enforcement, and the kind of inspections our vehicle compliance officers carry out every day," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "It also gives the trucking industry the opportunity to show its commitment to safety on our highways."

One-hundred-and-ninety-one heavy trucks were inspected as they entered Nova Scotia on Highway 104. Of those vehicles, 164 passed the rigorous inspection standards, while 27 were taken out of service.

Mobile patrols inspected commercial vehicles travelling other highways across the province.

Commercial vehicles were selected randomly and subjected to the most comprehensive and stringent of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) on-road inspection procedures.

The International Roadcheck is held annually throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Fatalities from crashes involving commercial vehicles have declined over the years. In Canada, from 1997 to 2001 the number of fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles dropped from 1,032 to 951 -- and the corresponding fatalities decreased from 664 to 548 -- a 17.5 per cent decline.