Police blitz in Sharbot Lake pulls 10 commercial vehicles out of service

Earlier this week, members of Frontenac County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), along with members of the OPP’s Highway Safety Division, Kingston Police’s Traffic Unit, and Commercial Vehicle Inspectors with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), conducted a joint forces blitz targeting commercial motor vehicles (CMV’s) on the roadways in and around the Village of Sharbot Lake.
During the one-day blitz on Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2023, officers escorted CMVs into a specified location where both the driver’s paperwork and the mechanical fitness of the vehicles were inspected.
Sgt. Steve Koopman of the Kingston Police shared that four members of the Kingston Police Traffic Safety Unit were involved – two of them being certified CMV inspectors to buoy the number of inspectors provided by OPP and MTO, with the other two acting as fetchers to bring in the commercial vehicles.
This is the third such blitz in the region since May. The agencies conducted a blitz in the Kingston area in the spring, and four vehicles were taken off the roads.
During this week’s blitz, 17 inspections were completed with a “whopping” 10 of those CMVs being placed out of service, according to a release from the OPP.
“This equals a nearly 59 per cent ‘out of service rate’ for the vehicles checked,” the OPP stated.” Along with the inspections, 15 charges were laid for various offenses, including improper work hours, load security, paperwork violations, and equipment violations. In addition to these, three CMV’s had their license plates removed, including a “cube” type truck that was transporting livestock (four calves and three chickens).”
According to the release, after being charged and having the license plates seized, the driver of the cube truck abandoned the truck and the animals. Officers at the scene contacted Animal Welfare Services to assist, the OPP noted. The animals were transported to a foster farm in the Greater Napanee Area and Animal Welfare Services is conducting their own investigation with regards to this incident.


In 2022, OPP officers responded to 9,110 collisions that involved a transport truck, marking the highest number of transport truck-related crashes on OPP-patrolled roads in more than 10 years. The incidents, which accounted for 12 per cent of overall collisions last year, resulted in 71 fatalities, the majority of which were preventable, according to the OPP.
During Operation Safe Driver, running July 9 to 15, 2023, the OPP, MTO, and other road safety partners will conduct targeted enforcement aimed at all risky behaviours on the part of commercial and non-commercial drivers.
“Commercial drivers are reminded that 24/7 compliance with commercial vehicle safety requirements such as inspections, hours of service, secure cargo, and the movement of dangerous goods is critical to keeping our roads safe,” the OPP said.
The OPP encourages everyone to call 911, the non-emergency number 1-888-310-1122, or dial *677 on a cell phone if they encounter a dangerous driver or observe an unsafe vehicle.