Gravel Trucks Revisited

Notes from a reader …

In your Monday August 11, 2014 posting you reviewed, fairly extensively, the dangers due to over loading of gravel trucks.

Well, it seems that Mathew Strader from the Enterprise newspaper in Caledon has now placed the spot light clearly on this “disaster in waiting”. Read the article in its entirety here:

http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news-story/4767471-weight-compliance-issues-abound-in-aggregate-industry/

However, the problems remain the same …

Stone-walling at all levels of government.

Mathew could not pry the full report from the MTO.

Mathew could not get any support from the current Caledon council.

In fact, Allan Thompson, who is currently running for Mayor in Caledon, suggested Greg Sweetnam, vice president at James Dick Construction Ltd. as someone to speak to for answers.

Now there are a couple of problems with this statement.

1) As an elected official, and mayoral candidate, and so duly charged with public safety by his position as a Regional Councillor, how is it possible for Mr. Thompson to not have a very firm position on this extremely important issue? He is part of the Regional Task Force recommending rural residential Mountainview Road and Horseshoe Hill Road as heavy truck haul routes, but seems to have no concern, and definitely no position on truck safety.
2) And, in addition, Mr. Thompson has been made aware of this report, and been questioned numerous times by a Caledon resident over the past 14 months, and has not answered.

So now Mr. Thompson defers his answer on the safety of Caledon citizens back to the operators responsible for these dangers in the first place? What a joke!

Caledon residents came to expect this type of avoidance from Mayor Morrison, but now coming from a new mayoral candidate?

How’s that for ‘leadership’?

According to Mr. Woozageer from the MTO:
“Any overweight vehicle is a concern. Overloading vehicles has immediate and long-term effects on road safety and infrastructure,” he wrote in an email. “Compliance with Ontario’s weight requirements has been an issue for aggregate haulers for many years. Over the years, MTO has implemented several changes related to vehicle weights and dimensions that should have addressed these issues, however, overloading with the aggregate industry continues. The ministry’s main concern is the safety of all those using our highways.”

So…The MTO states: ‘major problem, big concern.’

Allan Thompson states: ‘I don’t know.’

There has to be a better choice for Mayor in Caledon. What about that Sinclair guy?

What, Me Worry?

Dedicated to Digging for Truth, Blasting the Myths, and Etching Reality in Stone.
Do you know “MAD Magazine” with their fearless poster child Alfred E. Neuman and his motto, “What, Me Worry?”

Every month, MAD Magazine has featured Alfred’s fiery red hair, car door ears and goofy smile on the cover of their magazine, and it is something to look forward to.

Little did we know that some of our aggregate operators would pick up his “What, Me worry?” motto as a way of doing business!

You want proof?

Just consider the “Aggregate Vehicle Survey Analysis” performed on behalf of the Ontario government in 2012.

38.3% to 47.7% of the 434 aggregate trucks inspected “exceeded their allowable gross weight”, while another 33.7% exceeded the enforcement tolerance!

That’s more than half of the aggregate trucks on the road running with disregard for the safety of others! You know … “What, Me Worry?”

It’s nice to see the Ontario government actually doing something constructive about aggregate trucks. Now they have the information…..what are they going to do about it?

But a more important question is…Why did this not come up sooner? Maybe in the yearly “Self Monitoring Checklist” or possibly on the “Truck Weight Numbers” collected by each individual operator.

What is a driver to do when he gets on the weight scale situated at each pit or quarry operation and he finds he is overloaded? It seems that too often he carries on with business as normal. “What … Me Worry?”

Do the operators actually report that the truck left loaded with extra tonnes of product? Do they record the maximum allowable weight on their reports?

“If” reports are falsified it would be paramount to tax evasion or fraud, as they would not be paying the people of Ontario sufficient levies for their haulage.

If the driver leaves the pit or quarry knowing he is overloaded, and he has an accident causing death … would he and the owner be charged with manslaughter? Or is it just “What … Me Worry?” again?

So…why would an operator allow overloaded trucks on the road?  … Is it MONEY?

Well, duh.

More weight per truck means less truck travel to get the product to market, saving fuel and wages. HUGE MONEY! The technology to accurately weigh each load is widespread. There are no excuses!

And, as with other broken rules and regulations at the MNR, we suspect the profits from cheating far outweigh the penalties. Could it be the MNR barely have a “bark” and definitely have no “bite” when it comes to enforcement of their rules and regulations?

So what’s the attitude of the aggregate operators when it comes to:
The safety of our children?
The safety of the rest of the road users of Ontario?
The damage to the roads that our tax dollars must constantly repair?

We would guess it would be “What, me worry?”

Alfred E. Neuman would be proud!

NOTE:
Many reports and documents come across our desk. We appreciate the information we get, so please feel free to send us more!