Province plans overhaul of truck driver training
Safety regulations to be strengthened in wake of Humboldt Broncos bus crash
Alberta Transportation says a mandatory training program for truck drivers will roll out early next year and the Humboldt Broncos bus crash was the “impetus” for the regulation changes.
Transportation Minister Brian Mason made the announcement in Calgary on Tuesday, a little more than three months after the April 6 crash that killed 16 people and injured 13 others.
He said the province had been working on improved training regulations last year but the tragic crash put trucking safety “on the front burner” for the ministry.
Mason said the mandatory entry-level training program will start next January along with a number of other safety regulation changes, including possible safety compliance reviews for all new carriers “within nine to 12 months” of a company starting operations. The province says the mandatory training will apply to anyone seeking their Class 1 (tractor trailer), Class 2 ( bus), and Class S (school bus) licences.
The province will be scrapping temporary 60-day safety certificates for newly registered trucking companies.
Mason said this move will eliminate “the chameleon carrier,” where a trucking company is suspended for safety violations and then changes the name and reopens and continues to operate.
“That’s been a particular problem for the province of Alberta,” Mason said. “We’re the only province that issues these temporary safety certificates and we’re going to be ending that practice. Carriers will have to comply with requirements of a safety certificate before they can start operation, not after.”
Changes are also coming to the road test model for Class 1 and Class 2 licences.
An independent review of the province’s testing model in 2016 found the system is “vulnerable to many problems,” including inconsistent fees and “improprieties ... including criminal activity in some cases.”
The ministry will be holding consultations with trucking industry stakeholders in the coming months to develop the new mandatory training program requirements and revamp road test requirements. Ontario is currently the only province with a mandatory entry-level training program, requiring all drivers to complete a minimum 103.5 hours of training before they can take a semi-truck out for a road test.
Emmet Callaghan, owner of Calgary-based CCA Truck Driver Training and former president of the Truck Training Schools Association of Alberta, says the coming changes will improve the quality of driver training in the province.
Callaghan said he is looking forward to the consultations and seeing what the new training requirements will be.
“Hopefully they’ll get it ironed out and whatever they’re going to implement will be a good program,” Callaghan said.
Similar regulations will be coming to Saskatchewan next year, with Saskatchewan Government Insurance saying the curriculum will include at least 70 hours of training in the classroom, yard and behind the wheel.
Mason’s announcement comes the same day Jaskirat Sidhu, a 29-year-old driver for Calgarybased Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd., made his first court appearance for his role in the Humboldt crash.
Police say Sidhu was behind the wheel of a tandem big rig when it collided with the Humboldt Broncos team bus. He was charged last week with 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and 13 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.
Alberta Transportation will be contacting stakeholders for safety consultations, but anyone is welcome to give their feedback on the proposed changes by filling out a survey online. The survey is open until July 27.