Gerry Tutecky-McDougall

The appellant appealed the 15-day impoundment of its commercial motor vehicle under section 50.3 of the Highway Traffic Act, arguing that the vehicle did not have a critical defect at the time of inspection.

The provincial offences officer found that four of the six brakes on the trailer were inoperative.

Although a mechanic later found the brakes to be working, the Tribunal held that the relevant time for determining a critical defect is the time of the inspection.

The Tribunal found that the appellant failed to establish on a balance of probabilities that there was no critical defect at the time of the inspection and confirmed the impoundment.

The appellant appealed a 7-day Suspension and Seizure Order issued by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles regarding its Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (CVOR).

The Registrar issued the order due to the appellant's chronically poor safety record and failure to abide by previously imposed conditions.

The Licence Appeal Tribunal found that despite recent improvements and the hiring of a safety consultant, the appellant's prolonged history of poor safety performance provided reasonable grounds to believe it would not operate safely.

The Tribunal confirmed the 7-day suspension.

The appellant appealed a 14-day suspension of its Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (CVOR) certificate issued by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles due to a poor safety record and recent significant safety events, including two wheel separations and a serious multi-vehicle accident.

The appellant argued its violation rate was below the threshold for suspension and that certain incidents should not be recorded.

The Licence Appeal Tribunal found that the appellant's safety record provided reasonable grounds to believe it would not operate safely, rejecting the appellant's interpretation that towed 'devices' were exempt from the CVOR record.

The Tribunal confirmed the 14-day suspension as an appropriate sanction.