Truck inspection questioned after flying tire deaths
By Terry Davidson, Toronto Sun
First posted: Thursday, January 28, 2016 07:22 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 28, 2016 07:30 PM EST
When Ken Jacobs heard about the senior killed by a flying truck tire on a busy highway Wednesday, his thoughts turned to his best friend.
Diane Tsialtas, of Brampton, died Sept. 18 when a wheel from a moving dump truck flew off and struck the 49-year-old as she stood on a corner at Meadowvale Blvd. and Syntex Dr. in Mississauga.
“Everything is still very fresh, very raw. Diane was my best friend,” said Jacobs, who then thought of the family of Wednesday’s victim, a 69-year-old Burlington man who died after a flying truck tire slammed into the front of his SUV on Hwy. 400 near King Rd.
“I know that they are going through what we went through — and what we’re still going through.”
Then Jacobs felt anger. Anger towards truck drivers who don’t check their vehicles properly before hitting the road.
“A guy I know, he owns his own trucking company, and he said to me, ‘It’s way worse than you think,’” Jacobs told the Toronto Sun.
And wheels flying off trucks seems to be a growing problem.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, “reported wheel separations” on commercial vehicles increased in Ontario from 47 in 2010 to 127 in 2015.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said drivers must inspect their trucks daily.
“They have to (do an overall check) every day, and they have to put their hands on those wheels, on the fasteners, every single day and check to make sure they are tight.”
NDP transportation critic Wayne Gates said in a statement he has “serious concerns about the province’s commercial truck inspection program.”
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred on Ontario’s highways and roads,” Gates said.
Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said keeping roads safe is his “No. 1 priority as transportation minister and it is why in response to recent truck-wheel incidents, MTO has launched Operation Wheel Check to remove unsafe trucks from the road.”
terry.davidson@sunmedia.ca
Truck inspection questioned after flying tire deaths | Toronto & GTA | News | To
By Terry Davidson, Toronto Sun
First posted: Thursday, January 28, 2016 07:22 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 28, 2016 07:30 PM EST
When Ken Jacobs heard about the senior killed by a flying truck tire on a busy highway Wednesday, his thoughts turned to his best friend.
Diane Tsialtas, of Brampton, died Sept. 18 when a wheel from a moving dump truck flew off and struck the 49-year-old as she stood on a corner at Meadowvale Blvd. and Syntex Dr. in Mississauga.
“Everything is still very fresh, very raw. Diane was my best friend,” said Jacobs, who then thought of the family of Wednesday’s victim, a 69-year-old Burlington man who died after a flying truck tire slammed into the front of his SUV on Hwy. 400 near King Rd.
“I know that they are going through what we went through — and what we’re still going through.”
Then Jacobs felt anger. Anger towards truck drivers who don’t check their vehicles properly before hitting the road.
“A guy I know, he owns his own trucking company, and he said to me, ‘It’s way worse than you think,’” Jacobs told the Toronto Sun.
And wheels flying off trucks seems to be a growing problem.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, “reported wheel separations” on commercial vehicles increased in Ontario from 47 in 2010 to 127 in 2015.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said drivers must inspect their trucks daily.
“They have to (do an overall check) every day, and they have to put their hands on those wheels, on the fasteners, every single day and check to make sure they are tight.”
NDP transportation critic Wayne Gates said in a statement he has “serious concerns about the province’s commercial truck inspection program.”
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred on Ontario’s highways and roads,” Gates said.
Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said keeping roads safe is his “No. 1 priority as transportation minister and it is why in response to recent truck-wheel incidents, MTO has launched Operation Wheel Check to remove unsafe trucks from the road.”
terry.davidson@sunmedia.ca
Truck inspection questioned after flying tire deaths | Toronto & GTA | News | To
