Face of Nation : A Saskatchewan police agency has fined a semi-truck driver more than $10,000 after police found the vehicle driving on a road with a 10-tonne weight limit. Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) said the incident took place on Oct. 3 just before 6 p.m. An officer saw the driver travelling south on Clarence Avenue, south of Saskatoon city limits.
The officer knew most semis, even without a trailer attached, weigh around 10 tonnes. He directed the driver to a commercial weigh station in Saskatoon where the tractor-trailer came in at 34 tonnes. CPPS said the penalties for commercial vehicles that are overweight work out to $500 for every ton a vehicle is overweight.
CPPS said it has increased enforcement of weight limits adding it does damage to roads that aren’t equipped to handle the extra weight. “When vehicles of that weight drive over them, you can see a rippling effect. It actually changes the shape of the roadway and puts large grooves and then eventually over time, the roads are destroyed,” said Chief Warren Gherasim.
Earlier this year, Gherasim said a driver of a semi pulling two trailers was fined more than $20,000. “So far this year we’ve laid 14 charges relative to violations on 10-tonne roads. Then we’ve laid numerous other charges for vehicles being overweight on our secondary and primary roads as well,” he added.
In a statement, the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure said there a number of reasons roadways deteriorate including weather and wear and tear. However, it said overweight vehicles cause a disproportionate share of the damage noting every 10 per cent increase in axle load increases damage to the road surface by 46 per cent.
Over the past three years, the province has laid fewer charges, therefore collecting less revenue from tickets handed out. Between April 2016 and March 2017, it handed out 1,232 charges collecting $1.2 million. In the last fiscal year from April 2018 to March 2019, there were only 412 charges and $378,858 collected. CPPS hopes fines will send the message to drivers to use roads designed for heavier vehicles in order for those highways to last longer.
