The Road to Safety New group pushing for stricter safety standards By Derek Clouthier
Pattie Fair and Chris Joseph are looking to convey Safer Roads Canada’s message about the need for stricter safety standards in the trucking industry.
Pattie Fair never expected the kind of support she has seen in her efforts to bring stricter safety standards to the trucking industry. After losing her husband in March of 2017 just outside Revelstoke, B.C., when his truck was struck headon by another semi-truck driver, Fair launched a petition calling for greater industry oversight. Though she gained a lot of support from trucking representatives, including provincial trucking associations and carriers, the effort really gained traction following the Humboldt Broncos bus collision, which focused a light on driver training and other safety concerns in the trucking profession. “It took a Humboldt Broncos bus with a load of kids before we all paid attention,” said Fair. “In the meantime, it’s one person here, one person there, every day, all year. As soon as the highway is open, it’s old news.” Families impacted by the Humboldt tragedy threw their support behind Fair’s petition – including Carol and Lyle Brons, who lost their daughter, Dayna Brons, the athletic therapist for the Broncos hockey team. “We wish more than anything that it didn’t have to take the deaths of 16 Broncos players and staff, and life-changing emotional and physical injuries to the
13 survivors, before the federal government took notice and announced it would look at implementing nationwide [mandatory entry-level training] legislation,” said Carol. “We miss Dayna every day, and it pains us knowing that this tragedy could have been prevented had there been more regulations in place to ensure Class 1 drivers are properly trained and monitored.” Carol and Lyle are now on the board of directors of a new group aimed at pushing government for stricter safety standards in the industry. Fair, the executive director for Safer Roads Canada, said they are focused on four main initiatives: seeing commercial Class 1 driving be considered a skilled trade and include an apprenticeship component; auditing and monitoring training facilities; having the National Occupational Classification for Class 1 drivers changed to a skilled trade, which would allow people to qualify for tuition funding; and, in addition to mandatory entry-level training, implementing a graduated Class 1 licensing system. “We’re lobbying government to change our system… It’s archaic, it’s completely inadequate,” said Fair. “We’re receiving more new drivers than ever before because there’s a huge shortage of drivers. So drivers are being put on the highways
without being adequately trained, supervised, or experienced.” Chris Joseph is also a board member for Safer Roads Canada, and was impacted by the Humboldt collision, losing his son, Jaxon Joseph, in the tragedy. “That was an eye-opener for me, it was a day my life changed,” said Joseph. “We decided to create a group that has a voice, and make some change. We know that it moves slow, but people in the industry tell us that it is moving faster than it ever has before.” With support from the trucking industry, Fair would like to see more progress at a government level. “This industry, Canada-wide, has been trying to do this for 20 years,” she said. “The government doesn’t hear them and for some reason they just will not step up to the plate on this.” Fair is perplexed by the resistance she has seen from government, particularly when compared to the backing she has received from industry. Even before the Humboldt tragedy propelled road safety into the public forum, Fair brought her petition calling for stricter standards to a loggers’ conference in B.C. “I thought these big, burly loggers are not going to like my petition,” she said. “In three hours, I had 300 signatures. The support was unbelievable. We’ve been finding that with all the trucking associations, they have been great… [We] haven’t gotten any pushback. The only pushback we have received has been from the government.” In addition to its four safety pillars, Safer Roads Canada is looking to bring information to the public on the tremendous reach a vehicle fatality can have on people directly and indirectly involved. The first responder who arrived at the scene of Fair’s husband’s collision has been on disability ever since, struggling to deal with what she saw at the accident site. Fair also pointed to other truck drivers. “Who is typically one of the first people on site? It’s another truck driver, and who is there for them?” questioned Fair. “They get out and these people are mangled in these crashes and these poor folks get back in their trucks and get back to work. There’s no support for them.” TT APRIL 2020
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