On Wednesday April 19th, 2017 officers from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) and the Owen Sound Police Service joined forces for a one day road safety campaign focusing on over-weight vehicles, unsafe loads, equipment violations and vehicle fitness inspections.

The primary area of attention was given to the 16th Avenue and 20th Street East corridor. Once the inspections began, officers soon realized that many drivers were not securing their loads properly or their loads were too big for the allowable gross weight of the particular vehicle.

Twelve (12) charges were laid and two vehicles were taken off of the road and towed due to major safety and equipment infractions. One vehicle was found to be almost two-thousand and seven hundred kilograms ( 2,722 kg ) or six-thousand pounds over the legal allowable weight for their vehicle.

With Earth Day arriving tomorrow, many residents will be cleaning their yards and garages. If you are taking any refuse or junk to the recycling centre in Owen Sound, we remind you that your load must be secured safely in your vehicle or in a trailer. Your trailer must have one operating red light to the rear and it must have a provincial trailer plate.

Owen Sound Police will continue its enforcement this week-end by enforcing the applicable laws including unsafe loads, over-weight loads, failing to mark long loads and unsafe vehicles.

For more information on loads and vehicle safety you can visit the Ministry of Transportation website.

source: media release, Owen Sound Police Service