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e-4533 (Public safety)
E-petition
Initiated by Xavier St-Gelais from Simcoe, Ontario
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the Minister of Transport
Whereas:
- In 2020, the Canadian Council of Motor Transportation Administrators, comprised of federal and provincial ministers overseeing transportation, issued Standard 16: Commercial Truck Driver Entry Level Training under the National Safety Code;
- Standard 16 establishes a comprehensive national standard for mandatory entry level training as part of commercial truck driver licensing, with only five provinces having since implementing it within their vehicle licensing frameworks;
- Standard 16 establishes a minimum of 103.5 hours of instructional training, only 65% of which is practical training spent behind the wheel, far below the minimum of 240 hours called for by industry players and public health road safety experts;
- Accidents involving commercial truck drivers have been among the deadliest in Canada with investigations frequently implicating the driver’s lack of training; and
- Preventable commercial truck crashes are on the rise, with Ontario having the highest number of commercial truck accidents ever in 2022 and over one fifth of traffic accident annually across Canada now involving large commercial trucks.
We, the undersigned, Citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Transport to amend the National Safety Code’s Standard 16 to enhance mandatory entry level training requirements for commercial truck drivers to require that:
1. a minimum of 240 instructional hours be completed to be licensed;
2. a minimum of 80% be practical training behind the wheel of a truck;
3. tire chain installation training be mandatory for all commercial truck drivers in all provinces and territories; and
4. training instructors be certified as having completed the national entry level training requirements themselves before instructing others.
- Open for signature
- July 25, 2023, at 1:57 p.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- November 22, 2023, at 1:57 p.m. (EDT)
