OPP's Project Safe Haul pulls dozens of trucks out of service in Southwestern Ontario

Ontario Provincial Police in the West Region are partway through Project Safe Haul, a commercial vehicle enforcement campaign running from Oct. 13 to Nov. 1, 2026. Results posted by OPP West Region so far show a high out-of-service rate.

Lambton County: 24 trucks parked

Lambton OPP reported on Oct. 27 that a joint operation with the Canada Border Services Agency, Environment Canada, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) produced:

• 34 commercial vehicle inspections
• 58 charges and warnings
• 24 vehicles taken out of service

That is roughly seven in ten inspected vehicles ordered off the road.

Oxford County: 15 of 43 out of service

On Oct. 22, Oxford OPP ran an operation in Zorra Township with Brant OPP, the West Region Traffic Incident Management Enforcement (TIME) team, London Police Service, MTO and the Ministry of Finance. Police said:

• 43 commercial motor vehicles were inspected
• 15 were taken out of service for major defects
• 19 charges were laid

How the campaign works

According to Elgin OPP, commercial vehicles are randomly selected and directed to designated inspection sites. The stated goal is to remove unsafe vehicles from the road before they are involved in collisions.

OPP West Region said on Oct. 28 that Safe Haul operations are continuing across the region this week and will wrap up next week.

What it means for carriers

Across the two operations with published totals, 39 of 77 inspected vehicles were put out of service. With Ministry of Finance officers at the sites, fuel and tax compliance is in the mix along with mechanical condition. Carriers running through Lambton, Oxford, Elgin and the rest of the OPP West Region before Nov. 1 should expect to be pulled in, and should make sure brakes, lights, tires and paperwork are in order before trucks leave the yard.