New B.C. training program for commercial truckers boosts skills, safety: ministry

The British Columbia government says truck drivers will be safer and more skilled once they have completed the province's new mandatory entry-level training program.

The Ministry of Transportation says in a written statement that beginning next Monday, anyone applying for a B.C. Class 1 driver's licence must successfully complete the training program before attempting a road test.

A Class 1 licence is required by operators of truck and trailer rigs where the trailer is equipped with air brakes.

The ministry statement says the program aligns with a new truck driver training framework introduced across Canada in February 2020 as part of the National Safety Code.

Lawrence and Ginny Hunter, whose 18-year-old son Logan died in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, have called for better truck driver training since an inexperienced trucker missed a stop sign in Saskatchewan and collided with the hockey team's bus, killing 16.

They say truck and bus drivers cope with risky and changing conditions while operating some of the heaviest vehicles on the road, and they believe B.C.'s new program ``is an important step toward improving overall commercial vehicle safety across Canada.''