Four injured when wheels come off transport on Hwy. 401 in Toronto

Cantaro

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Aug 4, 2016
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I thought the brought in very stiff rules and were stopping trucks and checking them on the highway?


Four people were sent to hospital after a set of tires came off a transport truck on Hwy. 401 late Tuesday.
The transport truck was eastbound near McCowan Rd. at about 11:30 p.m. when a set of wheels blew away from the trailer.
“The vehicle was driving along, and for some reason, a set of wheels detached from the trailer, and those wheels went bouncing down the highway and ended up on the westbound side,” Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said.

The wheels bounced into the westbound lanes where a vehicle slammed into them and caused a chain-reaction accident with four other vehicles.
Schmidt said the first vehicle involved would have had less than a second to react.


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Two 17-year-old girls were trapped in one vehicle, but only had minor injuries.
Two men in another vehicle were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
“The drivers that were approaching the wheel that had come to a rest already on the highway really had nowhere to go,” Schmidt said.


OPP Highway Safety Division

✔@OPP_HSD

https://twitter.com/OPP_HSD/status/1273246372460990471

4 people to hospital after wheels came off of a transport truck #Hwy401 near McCowan Road. Operator charged with Detached wheels - HTA 84.1 #CheckYourNuts
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bazokajoe

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Nov 6, 2010
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I can't believe no one was killed.That's a lot of weight moving at high speed.
 

HEYHEY

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Nov 25, 2005
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I thought the brought in very stiff rules and were stopping trucks and checking them on the highway?


Four people were sent to hospital after a set of tires came off a transport truck on Hwy. 401 late Tuesday.
The transport truck was eastbound near McCowan Rd. at about 11:30 p.m. when a set of wheels blew away from the trailer.
“The vehicle was driving along, and for some reason, a set of wheels detached from the trailer, and those wheels went bouncing down the highway and ended up on the westbound side,” Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said.

The wheels bounced into the westbound lanes where a vehicle slammed into them and caused a chain-reaction accident with four other vehicles.
Schmidt said the first vehicle involved would have had less than a second to react.


49 people are talking about this



Two 17-year-old girls were trapped in one vehicle, but only had minor injuries.
Two men in another vehicle were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
“The drivers that were approaching the wheel that had come to a rest already on the highway really had nowhere to go,” Schmidt said.
So you think they are able to stop every single truck on the highway and check it ?

For a second let's assume the above was possible, 2 minutes after they check a wheel there can be a mechanical issue and the wheel can come off.

How do some of you get dressed in the morning ? Lol
 
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Jasmine Raine

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Jul 28, 2014
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So you think they are able to stop every single truck on the highway and check it ?

For a second let's assume the above was possible, 2 minutes after they check a wheel there can be a mechanical issue and the wheel can come off.

How do some of you get dressed in the morning ? Lol
I think inspectors should go into shipping yards, company lots, etc. Show up unannounced and do random spot checks. Give out huge, I am HUGE fines for unsafe trucks. Both trucker, company having stuff hauled and the trucking company. All fined.

It might not catch everything all the time but do it enough and more truckers and companies will start looking at preemptive maintenance to help reduce this and other shit from happening.

More companies needing goods shipped will look more heavily into the companies and truckers they hire.


Maybe I'm wrong but I think it would be better then only having spot checks on the road.
 

rhuarc29

Well-known member
Apr 15, 2009
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Maybe I'm wrong but I think it would be better then only having spot checks on the road.
More inspections at more nodes in the network would help, but at what cost? There's always a trade-off. Our resources are limited, and even with that level of scrutiny, it still won't capture everything.
One rare incident does not justify a whole revamp of our current procedures.
 

sshotrr

Active member
Aug 21, 2001
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So you think they are able to stop every single truck on the highway and check it ?

For a second let's assume the above was possible, 2 minutes after they check a wheel there can be a mechanical issue and the wheel can come off.

How do some of you get dressed in the morning ? Lol
If you do a proper check of the bolts on the truck everyday like you are supposed to do . The chances of losing a rim is none existent . They do not losen that easy . If you do a proper circle check everyday before using the truck . You will catch most defects on the truck early .
 

SchlongConery

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Jan 28, 2013
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If you do a proper check of the bolts on the truck everyday like you are supposed to do . The chances of losing a rim is none existent . They do not losen that easy . If you do a proper circle check everyday before using the truck . You will catch most defects on the truck early .

In this particular case, the photos show the axel broke and the whole hub assembly came off as an attached pair of wheels. Likely a lack of wheel bearing preventative maintenance.

Dangerous as fuck. Not sure if a pending bearing failure is visible from a walk-around driver inspection. Maybe discolouration from heat?
 

John Wick

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Oct 25, 2019
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I think inspectors should go into shipping yards, company lots, etc. Show up unannounced and do random spot checks. Give out huge, I am HUGE fines for unsafe trucks. Both trucker, company having stuff hauled and the trucking company. All fined.

It might not catch everything all the time but do it enough and more truckers and companies will start looking at preemptive maintenance to help reduce this and other shit from happening.

More companies needing goods shipped will look more heavily into the companies and truckers they hire.


Maybe I'm wrong but I think it would be better then only having spot checks on the road.
Sure, that will do the already extremely fragile trucking industry that North America is completely and absolutely dependent on for virtually everything absolutely tons of good, not to mention the trickle down effect it will have on the supply chain, and availability of essential commodities to consumers. If you like massive long-term shortages of pretty much everything, plus an economic meltdown of epip proportions, do what Jessica suggests.
 

SchlongConery

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Jan 28, 2013
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Sure, that will do the already extremely fragile trucking industry that North America is completely and absolutely dependent on for virtually everything absolutely tons of good, not to mention the trickle down effect it will have on the supply chain, and availability of essential commodities to consumers. If you like massive long-term shortages of pretty much everything, plus an economic meltdown of epip proportions, do what Jessica suggests.

Uhhhhhmmmm..... if the trucks and trailers are maintained they will pass inspection, Then there would be no fines.

Or are you suggesting that 300 lb tires flying off poorly maintained trucks at highway speeds are a fair tradeoff for negligent maintenance?
 

John Wick

Baba Yaga
Oct 25, 2019
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Uhhhhhmmmm..... if the trucks and trailers are maintained they will pass inspection, Then there would be no fines.

Or are you suggesting that 300 lb tires flying off poorly maintained trucks at highway speeds are a fair tradeoff for negligent maintenance?
Why do you suppose trucking companies and drivers are cutting corners on in-house inspection and maintenance in the first place? Do you suppose it's because they like being involved in accidents and being sued? Maybe the industry as a whole just has a thing for blood and gore on highways? They find the game of 'catch me if you can' exhilarating? Look a little deeper at the industry to see root cause issues driving the propensity of mechanical failures and human-error.

It's simplistic to believe that the problem will suddenly just go away because you start to impose massive fines after the fact, which in truth will do far more damage than good.
 

Conil

Well-known member
Apr 12, 2013
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So you think they are able to stop every single truck on the highway and check it ?

For a second let's assume the above was possible, 2 minutes after they check a wheel there can be a mechanical issue and the wheel can come off.

How do some of you get dressed in the morning ? Lol
We don't need to stop each truck. But a few years back, the showed on the news when the cops or ministry were stopping trucks and inspecting them. That alone was a incentive for some of the truck companies to keep up with maintenance. I know a truck mechanic, he said at that period more trucks were coming in for maintenance They should show more often on TV trucks pulled of the highways or towed.
 
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sshotrr

Active member
Aug 21, 2001
873
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In this particular case, the photos show the axel broke and the whole hub assembly came off as an attached pair of wheels. Likely a lack of wheel bearing preventative maintenance.

Dangerous as fuck. Not sure if a pending bearing failure is visible from a walk-around driver inspection. Maybe discolouration from heat?
Then it's a definate lack of maintaince . This is failure long time coming should have been caught by a mechanic . To many trucks on the road tha shouldn't be . Many truckers don't maintain their trucks . You can spot them pretty easily . Usually 10 years or older . Many on their third or fourth driver .
 
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