Truckers protest “illegal drivers,” call for return of roadside checkpoints

Truck drivers are sounding the alarm over what they say is a growing problem on Canadian roads: untrained and illegal truckers putting everyone at risk.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Truck drivers are sounding the alarm over what they say is a growing problem on Canadian roads: untrained and illegal truckers putting everyone at risk.

They took to the highways in Quebec and Ontario to protest the lax enforcement of transportation regulations.

The group, called Assez c’est assez. Sauvons l’industrie du camionnage are calling for authorities to put an end to illegal drivers by reintroducing roadside checkpoints.

They believe the issue could be mitigated by more rigorous vehicle inspections and improved driver training.

“It is imperative that the government divide the solutions between provincial and federal jurisdictions so that each level fully assumes its responsibilities,” reads their petition. “Among these measures, the implementation of appropriate infrastructure for stricter enforcement of transportation regulations is essential.”

Their goal was to slow traffic without stopping it to highlight the growing problem of untrained drivers behind the wheel of transport vehicles.

Protest organizers said statistics show an alarming increase in road accidents involving trucks, illustrating the urgency of reform.

Truckers met in the Montreal area, Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, and Ottawa on Monday. Another gathering planned for Gatineau was cancelled.

There has been an increase in roadside accidents involving 18-wheelers in recent years, which many attribute to poor training and questionable commercial licensing schools and companies.

A trucking company in British Columbia was found to have ties to a previous company that had been shut down by the province for too many overpass crashes.

Legacy Pathways Ltd. has been linked to Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd., a company banned after six highway crashes.

These ties may put Legacy Pathways in violation of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act.

The Act’s regulations stipulate that if a trucking company’s National Safety Code certificate is cancelled for cause, the company, its directors and officers may not be permitted a new safety certificate.

Companies may only apply for reinstatement after a three-year penalty period.

The province’s transportation ministry said its commercial vehicle safety enforcement branch “is aware of concerns regarding Legacy Pathways Ltd. and is investigating.”

Earlier this month, a truck driver who killed a woman and a boy in Quebec three years ago was returned to Canada after being arrested in the United States in August.

Sûreté du Québec confirmed that Baljeet Singh, 28, was arrested by U.S. Marshals on Aug. 21 after several months of extradition hearings. He was returned to Canada on Wednesday.

The July 19, 2022, crash on Highway 30 in Brossard, Quebec, killed an 11-year-old boy and a 42-year-old woman.

Police say the truck collided with seven vehicles after Singh failed to slow down in a construction zone. Ten others were injured.

Singh appeared by video conference in a Longueuil, Quebec, courtroom Thursday, charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The RCMP also arrested a motorist responsible for a Manitoba crash that killed a mother and her eight-year-old son after he allegedly blew a stop sign.

Last month, Ontario truck driver Navjeet Singh was arrested at Toronto Pearson International Airport after months of evading authorities.