The defendant was charged with driving a commercial motor vehicle tractor-trailer combination on the Queen Elizabeth Way highway with the tractor in a dangerous or unsafe condition, contrary to s. 84(1) of the Highway Traffic Act.
The charge arose from an inspection at a truck inspection station where an enforcement officer observed one missing fastener bolt and nut on the third axle front right wheel assembly, several loose washers, and an alleged 1/8 inch separation between the two wheels.
The defendant had undergone a defect-free inspection at the same station four days earlier and had conducted his own pre-trip inspection that morning.
The court found that the prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, as the evidence did not establish a prescribed critical defect under the applicable regulations, and expert witness testimony would have been required to establish that the observed defects rendered the vehicle dangerous or unsafe.
