Motorists on Hwy. #2 may have noticed an odd sight at the commercial vehicle inspection station last week. A big white van was parked on the grass between the highway and the weigh scales. Protruding from its rear bumper was an arm, at the end of which was a black ball about the size of a volleyball or a bit smaller.
It turns out the ball is an infrared camera, set up to take thermal images of the trucks that roll through the weigh scales. Two cameras, actually, since it also contains a colour camera. But it’s the infrared unit that was making the difference last week in identifying failed brakes on some trucks.
“We’ve taken 13 trucks off the road with defective brakes and tires…in four hours,” said camera operator Rob Sapinsky of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch.
Hot spots on the trucks show up bright white against the cooler grey or black parts of the rigs on the screen Sapinsky monitors inside the air-conditioned van. He can zoom in on the wheels or any other part of the unit if he sees something that warrants a closer look. Overheated brakes (which generally means they aren’t working properly) are easy to spot, he says. So are flat or otherwise damaged tires, which tend to get hot. Leaks from tanks can also show up, due to a different heat signature.
Tests have shown that the readings have “98 per cent accuracy,” Sapinsky says. But in every case, officers in the yard were verifying Sapinsky’s analysis.
“It still requires officer intervention,” he says.
There were plenty around to get the work done. According to station manager Robert Livingston, eight or nine CVE cops from around the province were on the scene for the two-day blitz, joined by local law enforcement members. Sapinsky explained one type of situation where the RCMP would come in handy.
“We can also detect hidden compartments,” he said. “If a stack (exhaust pipe) is cold, it could indicate a hidden compartment.”
The thermal imaging unit cost the province about half a million dollars, Sapinsky said. It’s been in use since mid-May of this year.

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