iN VIDEO: Commercial trucker under investigation for near miss north of Kamloops
A dangerous passing effort by a commercial transport truck north of Kamloops on the weekend is under investigation.
A video was taken by another transport truck driver as the Manitoulin Transport truck passed it and a car before pulling in behind a loaded logging truck, avoiding another truck hitting it head on.
READ MORE: Truckers use radio to keep Highway 5 safe during dangerous pass north of Kamloops.
“Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement is investigating the incident in the video to ensure appropriate actions, including possible sanctions, are taken,” states an email to iNFOnews.ca from the Ministry of Transportation and infrastructure.
There have been a number of collisions in recent months involving tractor trailers both on this stretch of highway and others in B.C.
“Based on the recent incidents on the Highway 5 North corridor, the ministry has stepped up Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement's enforcement of commercial vehicles along the route,” the email says. “Since early February, we have written 1,589 violation tickets, 1,062 of which were for speeding.
“Ministry staff is also undertaking an engineering review to better understand the safety performance and recommend improvements for the Highway 5 North corridor.”
The offending truck bore a Manitoulin Transport logo on the trailer.
“I have no comment on that,” is all a woman in the dispatch department of Manitoulin told iNFOnews. She refused to give her name or pass iNFOnews.ca on to someone who could comment.
A recent CBC report says it received an email from the company saying the truck pulling the trailer did not belong to the company and the driver was not an employee.
Manitoulin’s website says it has the “most extensive transportation network in North America.”
It started on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario in 1953 and now has a group of companies with branches across Canada with international connections.
On its webpage the transport company says it has an "elite" safety status based on an audit by Northbridge Insurance, with a ranking 4.6 out of 5 possible points.
This is not the only dangerous truck driving video on B.C. highways in recent years.
In December 2021, the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt, and Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon, were closed due to massive flooding so truck traffic to the Interior was confined to Highway 5 from Hope to Princeton.
A YWT Transport truck was videotaped passing unsafely on Highway 5A north of Princeton. The company had all its 171 trucks suspended following that incident.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Dangerous driving on B.C. highway lands national trucking company in hot water
In June 2022, an unsafe pass by a DCT Chambers driver was filmed by another trucker that, ultimately, passed the Chambers truck on the inside shoulder of the road.
“Both companies involved in the June 10 incident have been cooperative and have taken corrective action with the drivers involved,” the Ministry of Transportation told iNFOnews.ca in an email at that time. “No sanctions have yet been issued against the companies.”
DCT Chambers refused to comment on the incident.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Dangerously duelling B.C. Interior transport truckers under investigation
Less than a month later, another dangerous pass was recorded on Highway 5 north of Clearwater. The Ministry of Transportation told iNFOnews.ca in an email that it was trying to identify the offending driver.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Two dangerous truck driving incidents under investigation
According to ICBC statistics, there was an average of 2,000 crashes involving “heavy vehicles” in the Southern Interior between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available.
There were an average of 14,000 such collisions in B.C. as a whole during that five-year time period.
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