‘Just flat scary:’ trucker worried about safety in industry

As the country awaits the sentence for the semi driver who pleaded guilty in the Humboldt Broncos crash, another trucker calls the quality of drivers and training in Canada “just flat scary.”

Chris Harrah made a pit stop in Regina on Friday on his way to British Columbia.

He said too many drivers are under trained and is in favour of the mandatory training laws which come into effect in Alberta and Saskatchewan in March.

“It’s pathetic right now, like the whole state of everything, we need this bad.”

Harrah has been driving for more than 40 years and said new drivers from other countries aren’t getting adequate training to handle Canada’s tough road conditions.

“Training coming from countries that don’t have weather conditions like this. It’s nothing. Five hours behind a wheel, you get a licence. Here’s 140,000 pounds,” said Harrah.

He also suggested companies who put inexperienced drivers on the road share the blame and should also play a role in safety.

“These companies will hire these guys and same thing, hook them on to a set of super-B’s with 140,000 pounds and go to Calgary. No experience with weight and stuff like that, there’s no concept,” said Harrah.

Harrah described the pressure of getting the job done on time under current regulations.

Currently, truckers are allowed to be behind the wheel for up to 13 hours a day in Canada and 11 hours in the United States. It’s supposed to prevent drivers from getting fatigued but Harrah believes what it amounts to is making drivers tired, hungry and dirty.

“You start your book in the morning. If I get a little drowsy or I go eat lunch and feel drowsy, I don’t have time in my day now to go jump in the bunk and have an hour sleep. That’s cutting into my work day. So it’s like go, go, go.”

The driver of the semi involved in the Humboldt Broncos crash had 70 logging violations in 11 days. A government report said if caught, he would have been taken off the road for 72 hours.

Sidhu pleaded guilty to 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. A judge will decide on his sentence on March 22.