Big-rig drivers in Ontario will face mandatory training
The prospective changes will require anyone seeking a Class A licence to complete a training course at a government-approved school before attempting a road test.

thestar.com
Feb. 23, 2016
By Kenyon Wallace

Would-be tractor-trailer drivers in Ontario will face mandatory training before they are allowed to get behind the wheel under new rules being proposed by the province.

The prospective changes will require anyone seeking a Class A licence - needed to operate heavy trucks and tractor trailers - to complete a training course at a government-approved school before attempting a road test.

“The introduction of mandatory training, in addition to the testing requirements, is designed to ensure that commercial truck drivers are properly trained before they are licensed,” reads a government statement released Monday encouraging public and industry feedback.

A 2014 Star investigation into Ontario’s truck training industry found new tractor-trailer drivers could obtain their licences without taking any formal driving education. The Star’s probe revealed that many aspiring drivers enrol in courses offered at unregulated, cut-rate schools throughout the GTA that teach just the skills tested on the DriveTest exam. These schools, called “licensing mills” by trucking industry insiders, take advantage of a provincial loophole that allows them to evade regulation by charging less than $1,000 for a course. That loophole will effectively be closed by the new rules.

Transportation Minister Steve Del Duca told the Star that “the safety of all users of Ontario’s roads and highways is our government’s top priority.” In an emailed statement, the minister said he is “committed to making sure trucking industry standards are high to keep Ontario amongst the safest places to drive in North America.” The cost for the mandatory course has not been set, but existing big-rig courses offered by government-regulated schools typically cost $8,000.

The government’s proposal notes that the Ministry of Transportation will also update both written and road tests for all commercial-class licences.

The Star’s investigation also found that tractor trailer drivers were earning their licences at the province’s largest truck-testing facility in Woodbridge without being taken on major expressways. The Woodbridge location closed last year after its lease was not renewed.

Under the new proposals, which the government is aiming to implement by July 2017, only private career colleges, colleges of applied arts and technology and recognized schools under the MTO’s driver certification program will be allowed to offer the new mandatory entry-level training programs.

These providers will be asked to develop curriculum to train drivers based on new standards set to be released by the province this summer. The schools will then have a year to create curriculum for provincial approval.

“Once fully implemented, all new applicants for a Class A licence will be required to take mandatory entry-level training prior to the road test,” Del Duca said.

Kim Richardson, chair of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario, said he likes the province’s proposed rules.

“Anything that’s going to improve road safety, especially from a commercial driving perspective, is positive,” he said. “How can you argue with advanced training and testing? That’s wonderful.”

Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, which represents operators of private truck fleets, said his organization has been providing the MTO with suggestions on how to improve the knowledge and road tests.

“It’s been over 20 years since they’ve been upgraded. It’s time for a change,” he said.

Millian added that he was concerned that the government’s timeline for providing the new training standards and requiring schools to submit curriculum may not be long enough.

“It’s important that we make sure the training providers have enough time to review the standards to then put the curriculum in place so they can then send them in to get approved, and that’s not something you do overnight,” Millian said.

The deadline for feedback on the government’s changes in April 7.

In Transportation Minister Del Duca’s email to the Star, he noted the importance of collaboration in the shift to mandatory testing. “We have been working closely with the industry to make sure we produce a result that helps make Ontario’s roads safer and gets this right for industry’s adoption of the program.”