It didn’t take long for police to catch a trucker breaking a slew of rules in Burnaby this week.
During their first commercial vehicle enforcement of the year in the city Tuesday, officers pulled over a semi-truck traveling on Royal Oak Avenue, which is not a truck route because the hill is so steep.
The trucker was driving with only a learner’s licence and no supervisor, according to a Burnaby RCMP tweet.
The man hadn’t conducted a pre-trip inspection, police said, and he was also found violating hours-of-service rules designed to make sure truckers are getting enough rest to drive safely.
The man was handed four tickets and his truck was taken out of service, according to police.
Mounties with Burnaby RCMP’s traffic section partnered with officers from surrounding cities and other enforcement agencies.
In the morning, they set up on Marine Way by Thorne Avenue, and in the afternoon they moved to the bottom of the Royal Oak hill near Deer Lake Parkway.
Twenty of the 32 commercial vehicles officers inspected were taken out of service because of violations, and 57 violation tickets were issued.
One driver was arrested on an immigration warrant.
For the past two years, commercial vehicle enforcements have seen more trucks taken off the road in Burnaby than the Lower Mainland average.
In 2021, police agencies conducted 42 joint commercial vehicle enforcements across the Lower Mainland, according to Burnaby RCMP.
More than half (55%) the trucks checked (1,087 of 1,980) were taken off the road for safety violations.
During 25 enforcement operations in Burnaby, however, 60% of trucks checked (620 of 1,037) were taken out of service.
In 2020, 62% of vehicles inspected in Burnaby were taken out of service compared to 52% across the Lower Mainland.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
Email cnaylor@burnabynow.com
