Canadian trucking legislation dangerous for motorists
By Matthew Burnett
Lance Writer
October 24, 2007
 Increasing numbers of truck-related collisions in Ontario has citizens calling on the Ontario government to take action against the practice of allowing truck drivers to be paid per kilometres driven.
In a border city such as Windsor, where trucks congest the roads daily, the issue of road safety and aggressive truck driving is often a concern.
“It’s just very congested by the university,” said Katie Embree, a criminology and psychology student. “Students trying to get to class have to leave an hour earlier if they’re using Huron Line. I’ve noticed some [trucks] run yellow lights and sometimes even red lights.”
Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways (CRASH) firmly believes that provincial governments across Canada need to enact tougher legislation to keep the country’s roads safe and drivers protected. CRASH claims that truck operators attempts at cutting expenses and overworking truck drivers severely endangers motorists. More than 43,000 truck-associated accidents occur each year in Canada.
Jerry Jolicoeur, owner of Elite Trucking School, maintains that Ontario truckers are well trained before they hit the roads.
“There’s practical experience in the truck and out on the road,” he stated. “We have a good licensing process here.”
Many people, though, feel that licensing is not enough to ensure that truck drivers will always be alert and attentive while travelling. When truck drivers are paid per kilometres driven, as they often are in this province, they often drive shifts lasting 13 hours.
“That is only one way of paying drivers,” maintained Jolicoeur. “There are three different ways, and that is just one.”
While Canada continues to implement this policy, other countries have come down hard on the per-kilometre policy. In the United States, the Hours of Service regulation was revised to ensure truck drivers were not driving more than 11 hours after taking a consecutive 10-hour break.
In Canada, the trucking industry is lobbying to increase the 13-hour shift maximum to 14 hours.
In an effort to make Ontario roads safer, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is advocating the installation of speed limiters in trucks operating within the province. A speed limiter is a digital device that is built into a truck so that the engine’s top speed can be preset.
“The vehicles are big and can’t stop as quickly as another vehicle can,” admitted Jolicoeur, who does not fully agree with the OTA’s endorsement of speed limiters.
Dylan Atkin, a history student at the University, doesn’t think speed-limiting will change the offensive behaviour of truckers. “It won’t change their mentality,” he said. “I don’t think their problem is about speed. It’s about a disregard for other drivers.”
While the truck safety debate over on-duty hours and speed-limiters continues, the government of Ontario has stepped up legislation for other motor vehicles. The new law, which came into effect on Sept. 30 is aimed at prosecuting speeders and stunt drivers who are caught exceeding the speed limit by 50 kilometres per hour.
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