The provincial government's Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch, in co-operation with local law enforcement, will be out in strength this summer to ensure commercial vehicles are meeting safety standards.

"This summer's focused enforcement on the Lower Mainland by our ministry's CVSE staff is part of increased roadside enforcement right across the province," Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said Monday. "We want to raise awareness in the commercial transport industry about safety on the roads, and that we expect safety standards to be met."

Inspectors will be targeting load security issues and the mechanical condition of commercial vehicles, including long haul trucks, local taxis and farm vehicles.

The results of these roadside inspections are used to identify trends in mechanical maintenance, which may result in increased focus on some designated inspection facilities and commercial businesses.

The inspections will take place on major highways and connecting roads between Delta and Hope.

The province recently introduced amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act to provide greater oversight of the vehicle inspection process. With these amendments, it allows inspectors to immediately seize the vehicle's licence plates if critical defects are found.

Over 40 per cent of trucks inspected earlier this year during a commercial vehicle blitz in Delta failed.

Delta police teamed up with a number of agencies to set up stations around the community over three days, inspecting a total of 448 trucks. Of those, 42 per cent were given an out of service order.

The numbers, however, do not accurately reflect the status of the commercial transport industry, said Delta police spokesperson Const. Cal Traversy at the time.

"Our percentage of out of service orders issued and citations issued will be higher due to our targeting strategies. But they do imply that there are a significant number of trucks on the road that due to either owner/operator ignorance or indifference, are non-compliant and represent a safety concern for the driver, other motorists and pedestrians," he told the Optimist following the inspection blitz.

In an interview a few months prior, a Ministry of Transportation spokesperson also said the high failure rate of commercial trucks inspected in Delta didn't represent the general condition of big rigs on the road.