By Sheldon Spackman

Sharing the Road

Transport industry urging driver safety after fatal crashes involving semis

Jan 27, 2020 | 6:25 AM

A spokesperson for Alberta’s transportation industry is reminding all motorists to drive safely on the province’s highways following two fatal collisions near Red Deer this week involving semi-trailer units.

Chris Nash, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA), admits that from an industry perspective, the crashes are concerning.

“This is what we try to stop, this is what we try to prevent,” he laments. “The industry has, with the new government training that’s involved to get people licensed, we’re working towards getting safer roadways.

“With the QE2 being one of the busiest roadways in Alberta, we have to make sure that the people operating the equipment are set to do it safely.”

Nash notes most drivers may pass 25 trucks per day in their routine travels, and stresses that it’s important to be safe when sharing the road with them.

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“Until you drive one, you don’t realize the sheer size, the weight, the breaking, everything that goes with it, the visibility and where you are as a car,” he explains. “Don’t be in blind spots and just give them the room they need to operate. They are going to be driving slower than you, they’re a lot bigger, just realize it’s not like driving a little car, they don’t stop as quick, so just keep that in mind as you’re driving around them.”

Nash also points out different rules for commercial truck drivers, both provincially and federally.

“When you look at federal rules, you’re allowed 13 hours of driving, so 14 hours in a day of work time,” says Nash. “Then you have to take an eight-hour break, plus an additional two hours of break time in the day to formulate your maximum hours. You also have cycles federally where you can drive in any seven-day period, you can have 70 hours of driving time, and in 14 days if you’re running that cycle, it’s 120 hours.”

Under provincial rules, Nash says truck drivers can run 13 hours per day, every day.

“The volume of commercial truck traffic is heavy on that road (the QE2). However, what we do every day is help to train from fatigue management, to pre-trips to make sure your vehicle is in good shape, to making sure you’re checking your vehicle on the way, you have safe places to stop, and to be aware of what’s on the road around you.”

As a voice and resource for the commercial transportation industry in Alberta, Nash says AMTA works with government to advocate for the betterment and safety of the industry.

“As the standard, we have programs out there to measure carriers and show their quality,” he explains. “As well from the health and safety perspective, and compliance and on-road perspective, and as the resource, we have training. As well as help that we can give carriers and industry and shippers and receivers for best practices.”

Nash says his message of safety applies to everyone.

“Just be patient, be safe, be aware of what’s around you and make sure what you’re operating, everything is in good working order and you’ll get there eventually,” adds Nash. “We’re all for that vision zero. We’d love to see nothing bad happen on the roads.”