Commercial Vehicles

Virtually all city and municipalities have laws regarding the use of Air Brake use in residential areas. However, as usual, there is very little enforcement being done.

Truck drivers either drive too fast or they've grown accustomed to use of Air Brakes with no regard for anyone but themselves. I hear and see this happening all the time in residentail arterial routes.

Paul Stein was convicted of failing to wear a seatbelt for an incident that occurred on Hillside Avenue in Victoria, B.C. He was observed by Sergeant LeBlanc who pulled him over and issued the ticket. Mr. Stein's argument was that he was a commercial vehicle driver engaged in frequent stops and was exempt from having to wear a seatbelt.

News reports often tell of heavy commercial vehicles that lose a wheel due to loose wheel nuts like those shown in the photo below. However, this is just as likely to happen to light vehicles and trailers too. Having just installed my own winter tires, this is probably an opportune time to post the picture and remind everyone to review your owner's manual.

The driver of this car may not have noticed the flashing right turn signal on the bus, but learned the hard way that it was worth paying attention to.

Do you drive or service vehicles with air brake or electronic safety systems on board? The Bendix Brake School is a free resource that teaches how Bendix products work in these applications. While it is manufacturer specific, the information in general will apply to similar offerings by other companies. The material includes a complete airbrake training course whose interactive content includes quizzes and exams.

Mr. Victor Shymanski was charged with disobeying a traffic control device after he drove his commercial vehicle past a regulatory sign requiring him to stop and check his brakes. He was convicted at trial.

Professional drivers of commercial vehicles (as defined in the National Safety Code) are required to do both pre- and post-trip inspections of their vehicles on a daily basis. The list of items to be checked is extensive and is set out in a document created by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators. The document also sets out the criteria that defines an out of service condition until that problem is repaired.

I'm a class 1 driver and haul containers around the Port of Vancouver. I was given a ticket by a CVSE officer for having 1 of my 4 twist locks undone. (Twist locks are on each corner of the trailer and they lock down the container to the trailer). I'm not planning on denying it was undone and he took pictures anyways, I'm just wanting to know the likelyhood that a deal could be made on the court date.

I see more and more Alberta companies having Alberta plates on their equipment and having their terminals in BC. These companies work and train out of the BC terminals. Their equipment runs either all BC or are pro-rated to run BC/Alberta.

Is this legal and how do they do it?

A new commercial vehicle driver is pulling a B-train with the rear trailer loaded and the first trailer empty ... at least that's the way I understand it.

He is driving from Alberta to BC and claims to be getting stuck in the winter conditions. I believe this load should be illegal but can't find any regs covering it.