Illegal trucks are making Bolton roads unsafe, resident group says

The death of a young woman in Bolton, Ont., has sparked community outcry over safety on their roads, with a group of residents calling the situation an emergency created by illegal trucks.

Ontario Provincial Police are still investigating the crash, but some residents believe the truck in the Sept. 10 crash is another example of the dangers posed by big trucks. One of the four vehicles involved was a transport truck, the OPP has said. Residents allege the truck was going too fast to stop in time.

Some are now calling on the town's mayor and the province to crack down on dangerous trucking operations in the area, saying many drivers are ignoring safety requirements and flouting the rules of the road.

The crash, which claimed the life of a 23-year-old woman, happened at one of the busier intersections in the Caledon community.

Adrianna McCauley had recently graduated from Wilfred Laurier University. She died just minutes away from her home at the intersection of Coleraine Drive and King Street West.

Colleen Monaco lives near the intersection where the accident happened.  "My children travel through this intersection daily to go to work and it's very scary for us. We believe that something needs to be done with these trucks," Monaco said. Monaco and other residents say they've seen truck drivers speeding and running red lights in their area.

The tension in Bolton shows how hard it is to keep GTA roadways safe as multiple jurisdictions grapple with shared road responsibilities and illegal truck operations. 

Caledon Mayor Annette Groves told CBC Toronto that the day before McCauley died OPP and the Ministry of Transportation staged an enforcement blitz in the area. In just a few hours, 14 trucks were pulled over and half of them were taken off the road.

She says the town is doing what it can to stop unsafe truck driving but it needs the province to intervene with better licence monitoring and larger penalties for those caught breaking the rules. 

Ontario's Ministry of Transportation said in a statement that its "commercial licensing system is among the most robust in the entire country.

"If a commercial motor vehicle is found operating without a valid CVOR (Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration), the driver and operator may be charged. Ministry of Transportation enforcement officers regularly inspect commercial vehicles at Truck inspection stations and while on patrol to ensure qualified drivers are operating vehicles safely." Residents are planning a memorial walk for McCauley on Oct. 3.