Dump truck driver fined $1,005 after New Hamburg Santa Claus Parade

Mark Hoffman thought he might get one ticket and a warning.

Instead, the semi-retired truck driver and his dump truck were pulled over and given six tickets totalling $1005, just moments after he dropped off food bank donations he'd collected in the New Hamburg Santa Claus Parade. 

The tickets, from a Waterloo Regional Police officer, were for safety and insurance infractions under the Highway Traffic Act.

"The kicker at the end, he said to me, 'Well, you know, this is a first for me. I've never inspected a truck decorated out for a Christmas parade,'" Hoffman said of his interaction with the officer.

"I thought to myself: I don't know what kind of upbringing you had, but I'm glad I don't hang around with you, Mr. Grinch."

Safety inspection

The parade took place Dec. 3. Hoffman has been driving a truck at the front of the parade, collecting food bank donations, for 15 years.

The Haysville man said his daughter noticed officers taking a close look at his dump truck just before the parade. Nothing was said and Hoffman and a number of volunteers made their way slowly through the parade route to collect donations.

He waited at the New Hamburg fairgrounds after the parade was over until the crowds had dispersed, then Hoffman made his way to the drop point near the Wilmot Family Resource Centre. As he drove, he noticed police following him.

At the drop off location, the officer asked Hoffman to pull the truck into a parking lot after he was done unloading the food bank donations.

"The safety has been expired for two years," Hoffman admitted, but said he's a licensed truck mechanic and the vehicle was absolutely safe — he regularly uses it on his rural property.

Hoffman was shocked when the officer handed him six tickets.

"This officer would have been fully in his rights if I would have had some gravel in the back of the truck and had an excavation unit on the trailer and I would have been going to dig out somebody's trailer," Hoffman argued.

"The truck was totally decked out … for the Christmas parade with a collection box on the back."

Truck had 'a number' of concerns

Waterloo Regional Police Insp. Michael Haffner said police applaud the work Hoffman has done for the parade and the food bank over the years, but "his volunteerism has really nothing to do with the situation."

He said the officer at the scene identified "a number" of concerns with the truck. He added it doesn't matter if the truck is used on Hoffman's farm — it still needs to comply with the standards set under the Highway Traffic Act for commercial vehicles once it leaves Hoffman's property.

"Everyone is responsible that the vehicle that they're operating is safe, it's roadworthy," Haffner said.

"In this case, the officer used discretion and did charge this driver with six infractions; however, in addition did provide a number of examples of education as well."

No real danger

Haffner added he's glad the story ends with a driver just getting tickets and not something worse.

"I'm glad we're not talking about a tragic fatality out on a rural road, the unfortunate death of a child at the parade or even the driver of this dump truck … the tragic death of him because of his unsafe vehicle," he said.

Hoffman said if police thought the dump truck was so unsafe, they shouldn't have allowed it in the parade in the first place.

Haffner said the officers used their discretion and allowed the truck to be part of the parade.

Hoffman added the likelihood of anyone being hurt was minimal.

"To me, that's a joke because when it's totally decorated — we have a Christmas tree, we have stuffed animals … I don't drive anymore than 20-25 km/h all the way up to New Hamburg. When I'm in the parade we walk on either side of the truck, so we're going at a walking pace," he said.

"I truly don't understand why they pulled me out. But, so be it and here I am."