Truckers Corner
TRUCKING INDUSTRY CHANGES . . .
T
By Kenneth E. Seaton
RAGEDIES OFTEN BRING OUT THE WORST AND SOMETIMES, THE VERY BEST IN PEOPLE. AND, SOMETIMES THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LEAD UP TO THE TRAGEDY, FORCE PEOPLE TO ADDRESS ISSUES THAT COULD HAVE GONE UNADDRESSED FOR A LONG TIME. The Humboldt crash has directed high beams squarely on trucking and the trucking industry. It has focused keen interest – on what has been and what’s currently going on – on Canadian hi-ways and byways across the country. The initial responses to the tragic accident were to tar and feather the truck driver; however, as time progressed and as realities came to light, its clear that there are some serious issues festering within the trucking industry. There once was a time when being a trucker was considered a good profession! Where drivers could make a pretty decent living as they made a career out of sitting behind the wheel of a big rig. However, nowadays many things have changed. The industry is faced with a severe driver shortage and is often running less experienced drivers in ever more complex rigs. Trucking companies, fleet owners and by extension – usually drivers with inferior training – are becoming solely fixated on a need for maximizing profits by; going faster for longer periods of time and on doing end runs around government rules and regulations. Sometimes, Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) on trucks were not installed, or were improperly installed or, even ignored or disconnected by someone. Problematic combinations lacking regulatory rules and laws have conceivably driven the industry towards where it is today. A stumbling government that has often neglected its industry infrastructures and insufficient auditing by Transportation Ministry inspectors has resulted in some in the trucking industry taking over the running of the roads.
TRUCKERS AND THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE CANADIAN ECONOMY In 2014 the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) released its Canada Transportation Act Review¹. The report concluded
that over 90% of all consumer products and foodstuffs are shipped by truck in Canada. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the for-hire trucking industry was valued at $17 billion, but its impact on the Canadian economy was estimated
