Last week it was unsecured dangerous goods and this week Ministry of Transportation Officers are on the lookout for unsafe commercial vehicles.

And the one problem they keep coming across? Wheels that aren't property secured.

They’re looking for tread depth and inspecting every wheel on every vehicle that comes through the blitz. Trucks are looked over carefully.  And inspectors come across problems all the time, especially when it comes to the wheels.

“You can see the way this is wearing on the outside,” says Sgt. Hank Dubee, an enforcement officer. “There's a couple of reasons for that. Usually it's either over inflated, the tire pressure is too much, or the tie rod ends up worn.”

A tire in that state could end with a blow-out, he says. The MTO is working with South Simcoe Police in Innisfil looking for unsafe trucks before an accident happens.

Just last week, two wheels went flying off a truck on Highway 11, near Oro-Medonte. They struck a car and the driver was taken to hospital. The owner of the truck was charged.

“If a wheel comes off a vehicle, it's now been made an absolute liability charge,” Dubee says. “Because it's such a serious danger that the company is fined regardless and there is no defence.”

According to the MTO, 81 commercial vehicles have lost wheels while on the road this year. It’s something these inspectors feel should never happen.

Under Ontario law, every truck driver has to make a full inspection of their vehicle before they hit the road, and that includes taking a good look at their wheels and making sure each lug-nut is on nice and tight.

All it takes is for one lug-nut to come lose, and the wheel will eventually come off. That won't happen if the driver notices the problem right away. That's why John Kuipers says he's always double checking things.

The truck driver says he does it for “personal safety, but also for the public.”

“It's been in the news too much where tires come off, and they're lethal when they go bouncing down the highway,” he says.

If a driver loses a wheel while on the road, that person is looking at a fine of anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000. At the blitz, anyone caught with a wheel that isn’t secure is looking at a fine of $390.