When the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Transportation conduct a safety inspection blitz, they check things like licensing, documentation, the vehicle's weight, and mechanical fitness. They don't usually check to see if the driver is drunk.
A 44-year-old Windsor man faces an impaired driving charge after stopping for an inspection in Essex County on Thursday.
An officer was speaking with a truck driver when it became apparent the man behind the wheel had been drinking alcohol.
Police conducted a roadside test and arrested the man before taking him to the OPP detachment for a breath test. Two samples were over the legal limit.
The impaired driving charge has not been proven in court.
Meanwhile, inspectors looked at 15 vehicles and took nine out of service. The OPP laid one charge under the Criminal Code of Canada and 21 under the Highway Traffic Act.
Last year, commercial vehicles were involved in 11 per cent of all crashes investigated by provincial police. While that is down slightly from 2019, OPP officers in the West Region alone responded to just over 1,000 collisions involving commercial trucks and vans.
