Nova Scotia Promises to Fix Weigh Station Problems
After a recent report by Nova Scotia’s ombudsman’s report noted a disregard for procedure on the part of the management and staff at the weigh station in Amherst, Transport Minister Bill Estabrooks would like everyone to know he’s tackling the safety and management deficiencies with urgency.
In addition to citing glaring deficiencies with regard to safety and management procedures, the ombudsman’s report also recommended eight ways to solve the problems, including the removal of human resources responsibilities from unionized supervisors and drawing up detailed operational policies and procedures for vehicle compliance.
Usually, compliance officers at the province’s weigh stations are supposed to enforce safety requirements for all trucks travelling on 100-series highways weighing more than 3,000 kilograms.
But an investigation discovered that the supervisor and manager at the Amherst station had inappropriately voided tickets for safety violations that staff had issued to truckers, and instructed staff to ignore trucks that didn’t stop at the weigh scale. According to workers there, the latter happened at least once per shift.
The investigation was triggered when an anonymous complainant contacted the ombudsman’s office last July. As a result, the office conducted 37 interviews with vehicle compliance officers, managers, supervisors, former workers, people in the trucking industry, the public prosecution service, the auditor general’s office, the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, the Public Service Commission and the Justice Department in order to make its report.
Tags: investigations, Ministry of Transport, trucks, weigh stations
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