OPP Is Asking A Driver To Call Them After Their Wheel Came Off & They Could Get Fined $50K

One Ontario driver has apparently lost a wheel without even realizing it. Now, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) wants that person to call them and pick it up (though they will get slammed with a hefty penalty when they do).

On August 9, OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt took to Twitter to find the driver who is missing one of their wheels, which was found on the side of Highway 407. He took the opportunity to also provide drivers with some vehicle safety tips.

"I just came across a wheel and tire. It's something that you might see sitting on the side of the road or down in a ditch, you wonder, 'Why would someone who gets a flat tire, you know, leave their old tire on the road?'," Schmidt said in the video posted to OPP Highway Safety Division's account.

So, how did a "perfectly" good tire just fly off a car?

Well, Schmidt directed the viewer to take a look inside the wheel.

"You can see the impressions of the threads from the studs that were pressing against it. You can see the grinding, the elongation of the holes, as this tire was wobbling and bouncing around the axle before it ultimately failed," Schmidt said.

"This is just another classic wheel separation that we see far too often."

Schmidt believes that the tire must've bounced around the highway sometime on Tuesday, and that the driver likely didn't realize they were without their wheel until they got back to their "yard."

"Well, I've got it. If you want it, call me, but you're also looking at penalties of up to $50,000 because of wheel failure," said Schmidt.

Under the Highway Traffic Act, drivers who are convicted of their wheel detaching from a commercial motor vehicle can get slapped with a fine of no less than $2,000 and no more than $50K. Eek.

Schmidt capped off the video by stressing how important it is that drivers pay "special attention" after they get new tires installed and mounted on their cars.

"This is just a deadly situation waiting to happen. So please, like I've said before, check your nuts."