Alberta’s new laws for commercial drivers were adopted in response to a tragic accident. A bus carrying the players on the Humboldt Broncos’ hockey team was involved in an accident. The driver of the bus was held responsible. An investigation of the driver’s training showed that the bus driver had taken a course that had been given by an outside contractor.
How commercial drivers are affected by the new rules
The rules stipulate how each driver should obtain his or her training. Not all commercial vehicles are busses. Some of the new rules apply to commercial truck drivers, as per Personal injury lawyer in Edmonton.
What are the rules that focus on the nature and extent of the drivers’ training?
Those seeking a Class 1 or a Class 2 license must receive training in a class that uses a standardized curriculum. The training should include delivery of instructions in 3 different locations: in a classroom, in a training yard and in a suitable vehicle.
A trainee that plans to drive a bus should spend some training time at the wheel of a bus; one that plans to driver trucks should spend some training time seated behind a truck’s steering wheel. In addition, each student driver must spend 125 hours learning how to use an air brake. Each instructor at the required training program should be a government employee. That same government employee should have been retrained with the standardized curriculum, and then re-tested for mastery of the presented material.
What are the rules for drivers of commercial carriers?
• Each such driver must be able to provide the government with full compliance documentation.
• Each such driver must renew his or her safety certificate every 3 years.
• Each of the drivers must complete a standardized safety and compliance course.
• Each of the drivers must undergo a 3rd party review, plus a knowledge test, after completing the required course.
• Any driver that hopes to become the holder of a Class 1 commercial truck license needs to pay a $219 fee.
What precautionary measures have been implemented, following the addition of the training-related rules?
• The background of each trainee gets checked.
• The government has information on each instructor, before he or she gets a chance to work with and teach trainees.
• The trainee receives an objective review.
• The payment of a fee helps to finance the program; it also helps to demonstrate the trainee’s commitment to the challenging task of driving a commercial truck.
What information is lacking in the posted details, regarding the improved training?
It is not clear to what extent the training of the bus drivers differs from that of the truck drivers. Do the potential truckers learn how to find the company that awaits the truck’s load?