CTA outlines plans for improved truck safety

by Truck News

OTTAWA, Ont. – The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) agrees with the assessment of the judge in the Adesh Deol Trucking ruling, a crash involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus that resulted in 16 fatalities, that “There’s clearly an issue about monitoring.”

Those were the words from provincial judge Sean Dunnigan, and it’s something the CTA agrees with.

“While the vast majority of companies go above and beyond in meeting National Safety Code standards through their own progressive safety management systems, policies and corrective oversight, a small percentage of carriers lack the knowledge and preparedness to meet basic standards,” says CTA chairman Scott Smith.

The CTA says it has established a Truck Safety Working Group, made up of leading industry representatives and Transport Canada. It promotes a 10-point action plan to improve truck safety.

The CTA is also calling on the federal government to quickly introduce an electronic logging device (ELD) mandate to cut down on hours-of-service violations. It notes paper logbook violations were frequent at Adesh Deol Trucking, as discovered through a company audit.

“Moving quickly on implementing tamper-proof, electronic logging devices (ELDs) to replace archaic paper logs to effectively monitor hours-of-service compliance is a good example of the technology our industry is calling for that would improve monitoring and oversight in our sector. This system needs to be implemented and enforced as quickly as possible so that hours of service violations associated with the Adesh Deol case can be eliminated,” said Stephen Laskowski, president, CTA.

According to Transport Canada, fatigue in both truck and passenger car drivers is a factor in about 20% of all collisions.


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  • An issue of monitoring ? You mean “control” . Because that’s what it’s all about , CONTROL ! E-logs are certainly not about safety . It’s about reducing people’s freedom and obtaining information . So are “borders” ! It’s all about CONTROL ! There is no such thing as “the land of the free” .

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XPmgP-qF0U

  • You just watch . Eventually government will attempt to trick us too accept a personal “safety” deceptive argument to allow them to insert a “microchip” in us . Imagine having such a device inserted within your brain at birth without the possibility of removing it without causing permanent brain damage or even death . And imagine what it could contain to eliminate you/us within 30 seconds with the push of a button at their will if they judge the action to be “justified” ……. Rather than teach us good ethics at a young age and to apply such by example themselves , we the people are losing our freedom by being fooled and through constant tyranny …. Be vigilant !

    • Yes but who’s teaching good ethics these days as was more common in days gone by. The gurus of thd day ain’t teaching much in tge way of good ethics or the millennials just ajnt gettin it cause society in geberal us goun to hell in a handbasket quicker than ever. Everyone pretty much so self centered and focused on themselves. Just watch how most drive to work in the morning or on the highways. They dont care how fast theyre drivung who they cut off or tailgate just to get from pount A to B on time. If these morons would just get up a tich earlier maybe pkan an alternate route as well…
      I see it everyday day, bullying, intimidation etc. by people tailgating others in cars, last minute 3-4 lane changes to get off at an exit they knew was coming up (they travel the same roads daily yet do this as well as other dangerous moves everyday).
      I just can’t believe how people driving vehicles don’t realize how close they cheat death daily by being so stupid.

      • I agree 100% with your concerns . However, before I respond to them , there is one point in particular I would like address .

        No matter how frustrating and or disgraceful the behaviors of the “unaware” may be , we must always treat them with respect . We must remain attentive to our own behaviors when responding to their wrongful behaviors . We must not label them shamefully .

        In this manner our goal is to induce the “unawares” receptivity .

        Example : If I call you a “moron” due to not agreeing with a behavior you enacted , you are likely to become defensive rather than receptive for the mere fact of feeling insulted .

        We must first have empathy so that we may have chemistry . Rapport goes a long way my friend . Diplomacy is key . No matter how offensively the other party may respond , always use tact . You must distinguish yourself .

        Concerning your points . I agree . The lack of ethics is at the root(the cause) of the problem . And this is what must be focused upon in order to create a sustainable change rather than responding to the effect of the cause .

        Rather than labeling the different terms that address the class of “4 wheelers” in each Canadian province , I will label them as “4 wheelers” although I do not want to exclude 2 wheelers .

        You are absolutely correct . The general public tends to drive unsafely and irrationally . They are unaware ,ill taught . Some will say they lack common sense . But what is exactly “common sense” ? It is an expected behavior by a reasonable person . But many are unreasonable . Therefore they/we must be taught .

        Expect the unexpected ……. Do not expect people to act in a certain way . Look at where that got us so far . Most must be taught . An undisciplined human being is considered to be an “animal” until disciplined and well mannered .

        And if you look at the way most drive , they appear to act like animals . As you say , they tail gate etc especially during rush hour . It resembles a fearful herd scenery . And we know that a fearful herd doesn’t rationalize .

        And as you pointed out , they act emotionally rather than rationally . Therein lies a tremendous mistake . They were not taught properly . And who is to blame ? We cannot blame the “people” for not knowing what they haven’t been taught . And we certainly cannot expect them to know on their own . Therefore the ones responsible for the lack of “awareness” and chaotic driving are the one’s who were and are in “charge” of educating and licensing . The ones who “govern” .

        We obtained our licenses from a government establishment that tested us before allowing us to drive through the issuance of a driving license . They also governed the institutions that taught us how to drive .

        That being said , some of us think and process information differently than others may . Some of us are rational compared to others .

        Therefore our “system” as it is designed to be a one size fits all is flawed . This is where the chaos originates from . And it starts at the top ,government, and goes all the way to the bottom pre-kindergarten .

        And the worst is , the ones who you see driving erratically could be doctors , lawyers, judges , dentists , politicians ,businessmen/women and parents, and yes even law enforcement etc ! It’s not because one has a “diploma” that we should “expect” them to conduct themselves in a certain way . Be vigilant .

        However , we can certainly change this chaos . But we must first unite . Our division is causing chaos ., and the chaos will cause us to unite . The system as we know it is digging its own grave . It’s inevitable .

        As long as the “capitalist class” rule , the proletariats will slowly but surely unite and eventually cause sustainable change for the benefit of all . This is inevitable since the “capitalist class” rule government . The day this changes will be the day that chaos as we know it shall end .

  • It’s a misconception if anyone believes the primary purpose of the ELD is safety. The ELD is there to monitor and ensure compliance with the hours of service regulations. The USDOT, the instigator of the ELD technology, will tell you that … it’s right in their mandate.
    If it happens to improve safety, then that is simply a bonus.

    • Yes this is what they want you to believe . The truth of the matter is the need to obtain “data” ………..

      The “capitalist class” need the “data” and the driver to progress to the next step in their agenda . Autonomous trucks and eliminating the need of a driver .

      The ELD mandate is considered a big step towards autonomous vehicles .

      Think about it . Those trucks will comply with whatever they are “programmed” to comply with . But the ” capitalist class” need the “data” to implement their agenda of which the “unaware” will hand them over on a silver platter at the demise of their jobs ………

      The CTA is not preaching the benefit of the “data” from a business perspective, they are preaching only the parts referring to safety a.k.a H.O.S compliance(safety) i.e: To avoid falling asleep. And that in of itself is a crock of BS . Otherwise they would also try and push a “SmartCap” . At the same time they(CTA) are ranting about ELDs being not hackable which is another crock of BS .

      To quote Fred Andersky who is the director of customer solutions & marketing-controls at Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems :

      Security Issue
      “There is no system that is not hackable” ,noting a hack attack on a large population of commercial vehicles could cripple the economy \ .

      https://www.trucknews.com/technology/the-path-to-autonomous/1003085227/

      That’s another thorn in the CTA’s credibility .

      The two major costs in the trucking transport service business is fuel and labour(driver) . Both of these will become obsolete . But they need the driver to eliminate the driver …………

      Anyways , reread the article , the CTA is also preaching about ELDs being tamper proof , LOL !

      Quote :
      “Moving quickly on implementing tamper-proof, electronic logging devices (ELDs)” said Stephen Laskowski, president, CTA.

      How that association can possibly manage to CONvince government concerning the ELD issue based on their rants shows us how vulnerable government is to manipulation through the use of lobbying either based on their ignorance and or cater to the bourgeoisie ,thus should be replaced .

      • The C T A is wrong to say E-LOGS will save lives. The solution is better training and MUCH more parking and detention pay that is higher than the fines for being late.

  • Monitoring = Surveillance

    My first question is :

    If a few people commit a “crime” , are we to surveil(monitor) all people ?

    If a judge commits a crime , are we to surveil all judges ?

    I can find quite a few articles concerning judges committing crimes . Should we surveil a.k.a monitor them all ?

    Quote :
    ‘ A key difference between a democratic society” and an authoritarian society or even what might be labeled a “police state” is related to assumptions and defaults . In a police state the assumption is one of suspicion and distrust . People are assumed to be untrustworthy and generalised and universal surveillance makes sense ; the legal, technical and bureaucratic systems are built with that universal surveillance in mind . The police states with which most people are familiar demonstrate this graphically :

    Former communist countries ,such as East Germany and Romania .

    Data gathering and surveillance can interfere significantly with a wide spectrum of individual human rights . Given this , the bar should be very high in terms of the “need” for that surveillance , and proper evidence should be presented and scrutinized before the “need” is accepted .

    The reference to data gathering and surveillance being “necessary” in a democratic society” is the crux of the issue . In what way and to what extent , can they be considered “necessary” in a democratic society ?

    The theory that everyone is a suspect : everyone might be a terrorist , a subversive ,a pedophile , a criminal is extremely flawed .

    In a democratic society , the reverse should be true – people are generally assumed to be trustworthy and worthy of respect , with the “criminals” ,”subversives” , pedophiles, and “terrorists” very much the exception . The powerful idea of “innocent until proven guilty” is a reflection of this .

    The key to a democratic society is not that the people should “trust” the authorities- but that the institutions are set up with sufficient limitations in their power :with oversight , accountability and transparency . It is not the authorities themselves that need to be trusted , but those systems ,checks and balances.

    Further , in a democratic state , policing is intended to be by consent , as set out in the “Peelian Principles” established by Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the Metropolitain Police . The police “represent” the people , enforcing rules and laws that the people generally believe in and support .

    If it is understood that the gathering of data has an impact on a broad range of the rights of citizens , then the consequence is direct : gathering data on citizens as a matter of course , regardless of guilt or innocence ,fits much more closely with the methods of the Statsi than it does with a classically democratic society .

    The CTA is clearly attempting to make it appear as if all truck drivers violate their hours of service , and thus are attempting to enforce an electronic “surveillance” device(E-log) on all truck drivers . In a democratic society this is highly unacceptable behavior . It’s authoritarian !

    Do not allow this sort of manipulative CTA association violate our rights in their attempt to CONvince the Canadian Federal government that truck drivers are all crooks .

  • The C T.A. needs to work with the fed government and all province’s to fix the parking problem by having a shared parking arrangement for all C.T.A. membership and O.D.I.A. membership. Any O. D.I.A member can provide shared parking as well in Canada and the U.S. I talked to people from the u.s Dept of truck safety on Friday at the truck show. They told the law needs to be changed so the warehouse needs to provide parking for a 10 hour break and truck accident rate is up as truck drivers are racing the clock and there has been over 200 truck s hit parked on on ramps in the U.S .between Sept 1st and Dec 30 of 2018. E-LOGS will not save lives until parking, driver churn and fines by receivers is fixed. The C
    T.A needs to fix the issue of truck drivers in the homeless shelter system and weekly minimum pay and hourly pay at the same time as E-LOGS come in 716 800 5814

  • I would like to draw your attention to the headline of this article .

    Quote :
    “CTA outlines plans for improved truck safety ”

    So clearly they are advocating safety . And the reasons they give to enforce ELDs is flawed because they do not increase safety .

    My next point concerns a collision involving two tractor trailers that occurred recently on County road 18 near Kingsville.

    I will post the link here underneath :
    https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/both-drivers-charged-in-double-transport-truck-crash-near-kingsville

    First we must take into consideration who is responsible for that particular road . The municipality and transport minister .

    We must also take into account that county roads have not been constructed with tractor trailers in mind .

    Those roads tend to lack proper lighting , they are single lanes , and the shoulders tend to be narrow and unpaved .

    The flatbed tractor trailer was hauling a wide load . Unless the company of that particular truck did not have permits and signs for the wide load , it should not be ticketed for a traffic offence in my humble opinion .

    Due to the narrow shoulder and being unpaved during thaw season , the driver must keep a certain distance from the right side of the shoulder . This unfortunately causes an obstruction in the road lane since his load is wider and the shoulder being narrow . Again this concerns whether roads are built for trucks and what they haul . Not the driver’s fault .

    When a truck breaks down , it breaks down . I assume this is what occurred for that particular driver to pull over on the shoulder . If not , then obviously the driver is at fault for enacting poor judgement by pulling off the road in that particular area .

    But that still doesn’t change the fact that the particular area is not constructed for safe passage for tractor trailers and for what they haul .

    Concerning the other tractor trailer that caused the collision . Poor judgement on his part is undeniable . He should have put on his four way flashers due to the obstruction on his path ahead of him and slow down , and come to a full stop if need be due to a lack of opportunity to pass in the opposing lane due to on coming trafic . We must take into account that this occurred at 8am which is rush hour . Therefore there very well may be oncoming trafic in the on coming lane . So we cannot assume that he failed to pull left in an attempt to avoid the collision he caused .

    These are the reported charges :
    “There were no reported injuries.
    OPP said the driver responsible for the parked truck with the excavator has been charged with having a load of excessive width on a commercial vehicle (Section 109 (2) of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act).”

    “The driver of the eastbound truck with the produce cargo has been charged with failing to turn out to the left to avoid a collision when overtaking another vehicle (Section 148 (5) of the Highway Traffic Act)”,

    If we google map the area , you will notice the County road 18 near Kingsville is a single lane . You cannot just turn left without taking into account whether there is oncoming traffic before you make such a move into the oncoming lane .

    Due to the narrow shoulder , which I assume is even narrower in winter due to snow removal causing snow banks on the shoulder , I deem that area to be a no truck road . It’s unsafe for tractor trailer passage until they widen the shoulder and or the road into a double lane . Clearly County Road 18 was not built for wide loads without potentially hindering oncoming traffic .

    A lack of proper lighting on public roads is also a safety threat . Therefore ,Ontario should take responsibility and render their public roads safer . They should stop always attempting to blame someone else for their mistakes .

    You should see the most recent “stunt driving” incident on the 401 concerning a tractor trailer . They fined him $2000, seized the truck for seven days as well as his license for seven days . In laymen terms , he was tailgating another truck while speeding a little over 100km per hour .

    If this isn’t discrimination then I don’t know what is . Because if you drive on the 401 across Toronto especially during rush hour , most(95%) of cars tail gate and go over 100km an hour in the process . Therefore they should all be stopped ,fined ,and their automobiles seized as well as their license during seven days . But we can’t do that now can we . Otherwise the Toronto economy would come to a stand still !

    Clearly the law is bias and cracking down on tractor trailers and truck drivers unfairly . The law is not to be implemented on a certain few . A law is to be implemented on everyone ! Why don’t they fly their helicopters over Toronto during rush hour ? They wouldn’t have enough paper to fine everyone breaking traffic laws nor enough space to impound them all ! But they will go as far as to hone in on a truck driver in his cab from their helicopters to see if he’s taking a sip of water and label him a distracted driver ? Discrimination at its best !