Ottawa Police Charge Driver, Company After Stopping Trailer Missing 10 Wheels

Ottawa police have charged a driver and his company after stopping a commercial truck/trailer combination that was missing 10 of its 12 wheels, with investigators warning the vehicle posed a serious danger to other road users.

Police stopped the vehicle on Lester Road in Ottawa on May 28, and called a Ministry of Transportation enforcement officer to conduct a full inspection of the trailer.

“The trailer should have had 12 wheels, but only had 2. Once safely directed off the road, the investigation revealed that the driver was taking the trailer to a scrap yard and had started the journey in Embrun,” Ottawa Police said in a post to X on May 29.

“The trailer had no operational brakes. All wheel fasteners on one wheel were loose, with one having been sheared off while driving.”

Police said an inspection of the trailer showed that there was a high probability the wheels would separate while the vehicle was in motion, which could result in an accident, causing the injury or death of other drivers.

Police had the compromised trailer removed from the road using a flat-deck trailer, with the cost for its removal charged to the company.

Police said the driver and company representatives would have to appear in court, but did not provide a specific date for the hearing. While they did not specify which charges were laid against the driver and which against the company, police said the charges included operating an unsafe commercial motor vehicle, operating a commercial motor vehicle without displaying the name of the driver, and operating a commercial vehicle for more than 16 hours consecutively.

Police said it is the responsibility of both drivers and companies of commercial vehicles to ensure that vehicles and trailers are safe to be on the road. Part of this responsibility includes ensuring that pre-trip inspections are properly conducted and that any defects are properly noted.

“In the case of this truck/trailer, it should not have been on the road at all,” it said.

Trained commercial vehicle safety inspectors that work with Ottawa Police are always on the lookout for unsafe commercial vehicles and drivers, police said.

Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, commercial vehicle safety violations can result in significant penalties for both drivers and carriers, including fines, out-of-service orders, vehicle impoundment, and negative impacts on a company’s Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration safety rating.

Hours-of-service violations can also lead to mandatory rest periods for drivers and additional enforcement measures against carriers, while operating an unsafe vehicle may result in the vehicle being removed from service until defects are addressed.