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“B.C.’s commercial vehicle inspector corps is being stretched to the breaking point,” says BCGEU President Darryl Walker.
Vancouver (18 May 2012) - A shortage of commercial vehicle inspectors and an almost 50 per cent increase in heavy truck traffic over the last decade has made B.C.’s public roads less safe, the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) claimed today.
The union released government data showing a steady decline in safety standards on B.C. roads since the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) branch was brought back into government service from ICBC in 2003.
Since then, more than 1-in-4 commercial vehicle inspector jobs have gone unfilled and heavy commercial vehicle traffic has gone up by almost half, while weigh scales are closed and crashes continue to rise.
“B.C.’s commercial vehicle inspector corps is being stretched to the breaking point,” says BCGEU President Darryl Walker. “They’re being asked to deal with one and a half times the volume of truck traffic with only 3/4 the number of inspectors as a decade ago.”
The union is very concerned that the B.C. government fails to provide a complete picture of vehicle safety in the province – by only reporting the number of vehicles taken out–of-service (22.6 per cent) during the annual 72-hour June Road Check Inspection. If ticketed violations were included, the actual ‘fail’ rate would be significantly higher.
“Data gathered year-round by commercial vehicle inspectors show a combined out-of-service and violation fail rate of more than 70 per cent,” says Byron Goerz, chair of the component that represents CVSE inspectors. “We can and should do more to keep B.C. roads safe.”
The BCGEU/NUPGE represents 187 CVSE Inspectors, working in portable units and at weigh scales. The inspectors are responsible for inspecting heavy commercial vehicles over 5,000 kg, and oversee private licensed inspection facilities across the province.
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE