Vehicle safety inspections could stop illegal mods

Eric Lai

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Q: In a recent article, a reader stated he was stopped by police because his wheels extended outside his fenders, and that he had been driving like this for 26 years.

If the province had mandatory vehicle inspections, we wouldn’t have a proliferation of (illegally) modified vehicles on the road. I see vehicles daily with off-road modifications to tires and suspension that cause enormous rooster tails in wet weather.

Additionally, rear bumper height is a safety issue and if one looks at the under-ride bumpers mandated for (tractor) trailers, one can see a huge discrepancy in heights.

Another area covered by safety inspections is daytime running lights. Ontario mandates that vehicles imported to the province must be fitted with DRLs, but no enforcement takes place. Many vehicles with Ontario plates don’t have functioning DRLs.

I believe annual safety inspections would catch these violations and create safer roads.

Right now, one can purchase a vehicle in Ontario and drive it for 50 years without ever having to have it checked for safety-related defects.

A: Ontario Transportation Ministry spokesperson Bob Nichols replies:

Drivers and owners are expected to ensure that their vehicles are in a safe mechanical condition when on the roads.

Section 82 HTA allows police to have motorists stop and submit the vehicle for inspection. If found not to be in compliance with HTA requirements, police may require that the vehicle be repaired and submitted for further examinations and tests.

Safety standards inspections must be performed on vehicles whenever a used vehicle is purchased and licensed for on-road operation by an Ontario resident.

Every year, about 1 per cent of all vehicles involved in traffic collisions in the province had an apparent technical defect that may have affected the operation of the vehicle and contributed to the cause of the collision.

The ministry currently has no plans to implement an annual safety inspection regime for light-duty or passenger vehicles.

The ministry is currently participating in a national working group that is developing guidelines as to the best way to deal with excessively-raised vehicles and safety issues related to mismatched bumper heights.

Eric Lai adds:

Since September 1989, Transport Canada has mandated that all applicable on-road vehicles (i.e. 1990 model-year onward) manufactured or imported for use in Canada be equipped with DRLs.

There is no requirement that older vehicles originally sold here without DRLs be retrofitted, which may account for some of the unlit autos you see.

Vehicles imported into Canada by individuals are inspected for working DRLs during the importation process.

The use of daytime running lights is not required by provincial law. Section 62 HTA only requires that motorists use their headlights in darkness (one-half hour before sunset to one-half hour after sunrise) or poor visibility.

Research by Transport Canada has shown that there is an increased danger to an unlit auto surrounded by DRL-equipped vehicles of being masked by the others. That is, the glare or distraction of the activated headlights may result in oncoming drivers not seeing the unlit vehicle sandwiched between others with activated DRLs, so your safety concerns may indeed be well founded.

GREEN POWER: About 10 years ago, I test drove a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup powered exclusively by natural gas and extolled the virtues and savings provided by the alternative fuel. As they say, what goes around comes around and, as my vehicle needs have now changed, I’m now the owner of a 2001 factory natural gas Ford F-150 (though not the same one).

I’ll update you on the highs and lows of going green with natural gas, a low-emission fuel, as I discover whether it was a good vehicle choice or not. For now, I can tell you that I’m rather happy paying 59 to 69 cents per litre equivalent to gasoline for natural gas, which travels roughly the same distance, or more.

Email non-mechanical questions to

Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca.

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