Related
Internal Links
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
Almost 40 per cent of the farm vans checked recently by government inspectors in the Fraser Valley failed to meet safety standards, according to a B.C. Ministry of Transportation report.
The random spot checks began after three farm workers died in an accident last month on the Trans-Canada Highway near Abbotsford.
Three women died last month when the van taking them to work flipped over on the Trans-Canada Highway near Abbotsford.
(CBC)
The inspectors pulled over 180 vans between March 15 and 23. Sixty-seven failed the inspections and were ordered off the road. The infractions ranged from faulty brakes to drivers not having a proper licence.
Charan Gill of the Farm Workers Union, who had lobbied for the spot checks, said he knew some vehicles wouldn't pass. But he is surprised the number of problems was as high as it was.
"I was thinking out of 100 vans, maybe 10 per cent of people are negligent and maybe 10 per cent are out of order, not 37 per cent. This is very alarming."
The operators of those vans have been ticketed and fined. But Gill said that's not enough, noting that even now, there are still farm workers riding in vans that are overloaded or have no seatbelts.
"It's quite clear now to the Ministry of Transportation and traffic police that they have to constantly check these people all the time. If they relax a little bit, the same thing will happen all over again."
A ministry spokesman said the random road checks are ongoing.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- New Westminster man saves woman from house fire
- A New Westminster, B.C., man is being called a hero after rescuing a woman from the balcony of a burning home early Sunday morning. more »
- Adults-only trade show cancelled in B.C. Bible belt
- Organizers of an adults-only trade show say they're cancelling a three-day event that was scheduled to take place in British Columbia's Bible belt. more »
- Canada fails to advance to Davis Cup quarters
- Canada failed to advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals Sunday as France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat surprise substitute Frank Dancevic in straight sets in Vancouver. more »
- B.C. vets call for ban on dog docking, cropping
- B.C. veterinarians are calling on the province to ban the docking and cropping of dogs' tails and ears, saying it causes unnecessary pain. more »
Top News Headlines
- Greece passes new austerity deal amid rioting
- Greek lawmakers have approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy, after riots in Athens and other cities left stores looted and burned and more than 120 people hurt. more »
- Quebec town 'heartbroken' after killing of woman, sisters
- A small Quebec town is in mourning Sunday after a Quebec man was charged with killing his nieces and his mother, who were found dead in their family home. more »
- Houston autopsy results withheld by police
- Whitney Houston was found in a hotel bathtub but it'll take weeks to determine precisely how she died, a Los Angeles coroner's official says. more »
- Musicians who died before their time
- The growing list of musicians who have died young. more »
- Former Stanley Park petting zoo goats feared slaughtered
- Adults-only trade show cancelled in B.C. Bible belt
- New Westminster man saves woman from house fire
- B.C. vets call for ban on dog docking, cropping
- Crane drops section of Port Mann bridge into B.C. river
- Langley man struck, killed by train
- RCMP request retraction over 'slanderous' article
- Pickton investigators defended by man who warned of killer
- Emailed rave rape pictures earn teen probation
Three women died last month when the van taking them to work flipped over on the Trans-Canada Highway near Abbotsford.
