Trucking(Feb. 3, 2020) — The Globe & Mail this weekend highlighted longstanding industry concerns over the need to improve focused enforcement oversight in the trucking sector across Canada; with specific emphasis on carriers who show a significant need for enforcement attention.
The Globe & Mail article stated that a number of commercial carriers in British Columbia had an “unsatisfactory-unaudited” safety rating as of Dec. 31, 2019, yet these carriers have yet to receive the mandatory audit required.
“The Canadian Trucking Alliance believes the article underscored a well-known need our organization has been drawing attention to, nationally – that in order to maximize limited enforcement resources, all provincial transportation authorities should focus enforcement strategies on carriers and drivers who exhibit systemic behaviour of safety non-compliance,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “CTA has been working with our industry since last year to develop a series of national policies and recommendations designed to improve the focused enforcement oversight of new carriers entering the marketplace as well as high-risk drivers and companies already operating in the sector throughout all jurisdictions.”
CTA plans to finalize these focused enforcement recommendations this year and share them with federal and all provincial regulators ahead of discussions on their potential implementation.
Following the Humboldt tragedy, CTA issued a Ten Point Action Plan to improve truck safety nationally. One of those recommendations included the development of a more proactive enforcement regime to deal with drivers and carriers who consistently display a troubling pattern of non-compliance.
“Transport Canada and the provincial and territorial regulators at the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, have shown a strong commitment to continually improve national commercial vehicle road safety. CTA believes our recommendations to improve oversight in the trucking sector could help form the potential basis of a national industry-government focus group designed to review targeted oversight in our sector,” said Laskowski.
Added Dave Earle, president of the BC Trucking Association: “BCTA has an ongoing dialogue with the BC Ministry of Transportation regarding the need to ensure that enforcement is focused to those carriers which have demonstrated a need for improvement. Any carrier in B.C. whose National Safety Code profile is determined to be unsatisfactory should be audited as soon as it’s feasible to do so.”
To read the entire G&M article please click here.