If you want to drive a full-sized truck in Ontario, all you need is a Class G licence and a successful completion of a road test in a truck.
It’s a situation that has some people, including the president of the Ontario Trucking Association, calling for stricter regulations.
The real problem, David Bradley says, is that existing trucker training companies can vary from those that cost $15,000 for intensive courses to those that cost – and offer – much less.
“They provide just enough training and information in order to pass a Class A licence tests,” he says.
“So many of these people go to these cut-rate places, they get their Class A licence, they read that there’s a shortage of truck drivers in Ontario and they think they’re going to get a job – well, no reputable company would hire them.”
That’s in stark contrast to places like Ayr-based Tri-County Training, instructor Kevin Matthews says prospective drivers are put through 280 hours of training, including classroom sessions and 55 hours spent solely on maneuvering the truck forward.
“The fly-by-night (trainers) may ... teach you enough to pass a ministry road course. We are teaching drivers to be way above that,” he says.
Mark Laforge has driven a truck for 22 years.
He thinks training should “absolutely” be mandatory for anyone looking to drive a transport truck in Ontario.
“It’s not just holding the steering wheel and going up and down the road. There’s an awful lot of things you need to know,” he says.
As for what those things are, Laforge is quick to offer up a laundry list of infractions he sees while on the road.
“I see them doing all kinds of dangerous things – speeding, lane changing, cutting people off, taking space where there is none,” he says.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, more than 100 people were killed in Ontario in 2010 in crashes involving trucks.
