Trucking industry, safety advocates call for improved highway safety

Thunder Bay - The Ontario Trucking Association and transportation industry safety advocates believe that improving driver training and licensing for transport drivers, improving roadside facilities in Northern Ontario, and upgrading the highways themselves would help reduce collisions on northern highways.

During the ongoing Ontario election campaign, highway safety in Northern Ontario has been raised multiple times. Just this winter, there have been several traffic-related collisions and other incidents in the Northwest, with at leastat leastthreeresulting infatalities.deaths.

Additionally, data from the Ontario Provincial Police shows that last year, 60% of fatal collisions in Northwestern Ontarioinvolved "commercial motor vehicles," but that definition also includes other large trucks and transport vehicles.

"I think driver training schools have received a lot of attention," said Geoff Wood, Senior Vice President of Policy at the Ontario Trucking Association. "I'm not sure how far supervisory officials have gotten on that, but we believe - not just us, but many other like-minded safety organizations in the trucking sector - that it needs to be done."

Changing licensing requirements for transport vehicles, including requiring different configurations of vehicles to be licensed based on the size, weight, and cargo being transported, is also something the OTA is pushing for.

"We believe that future licensing jurisdictions should take this into account, thereby improving road safety, (and) giving drivers more time in real-world conditions."

Wood said the organization is participating in the Ministry of Transportation's review of commercial truck driver training, "which we think is excellent."

Last year, the OTA released a survey of 680 drivers, particularly those on Highways 11 and 17 in Northern Ontario, about their concerns and suggested solutions. "Unsafe passing" was the top concern, followed by inadequate rest areas, insufficient driver training, and a lack of safe passing zones.

Jeff Orr, a transport driver with 25 years of experience and co-founder of the Truckers for Safe Highways advocacy group, said that over his career, he has noticed an overall deterioration in highway safety. "Things have changed," he said. "It's getting worse."

Orr told The Watch that he has noticed a reduction in commercial vehicle enforcement, with facilities like inspection stations no longer open and operating, meaning less oversight of drivers. "Previously, weigh scales were staffed on a regular basis," Orr said. "Now I can drive across Ontario without worrying about being pulled into a weigh scale."

Orr also said he believes driver training and oversight of training schools need improvement.

As for the highways themselves, both organizations say there is significant room for improvement in Northern Ontario.

The OTA's survey of truck drivers identified adding more truck lanes and climbing lanes on Northern Ontario highways as the best solution.

"They need to do a lot of work on infrastructure like highways in Northern Ontario - I mean, we're years behind the U.S., right?" said Orr of Truckers for Safe Highways. "They have an interstate highway system across the country, while our main artery is a two-lane highway across Ontario."

Wood of the Ontario Trucking Association said that given mandatory limits on drivers' hours of service, ensuring proper distribution of rest stops and filling gaps in regional infrastructure is crucial for driver safety.

"The ability to find safe parking to meet regulatory obligations is critical for them," he said, adding that in his estimation, the MTO is implementing a "very aggressive program" to fill those gaps, and he encourages that program to continue.

Source:  https://www.tbnewswatch.com/ontario-election/trucking-industry-safety-advocates-call-for-highway-safety-improvement-10278630