MPP Guy Bourgouin introduces private member’s bill to improve highway safety

Training should include at least 20 hours on a simulator

MPP Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk – James Bay) is calling on the government to increase truck driver training requirements. Amidst ongoing reports of fraud and corruption in truck driver licensing centers across Ontario, MPP Bourgouin tabled his latest private member’s bill that would require all new drivers to complete mandatory entry level training before obtaining a class A or D license. This training would include at least 20 hours on a truck simulator that would expose them to winter driving conditions.

“Winter has arrived in Northern Ontario, and with it, dangerous driving conditions that shut down highways and lead to countless accidents,” said Guy. “Winter conditions make driving on northern Ontario’s mainly single lane highways dangerous for even the most experienced drivers. Highways 17 and 11 are essential roads for northern Ontarians and every precaution must be taken to reduce the risks of collisions that put road users lives in danger.”

“We are bringing solutions to the table. We want to work to improve the safety of our highways that we rely on every day. Families in Ontario, and especially in the North, deserve to know that this government is doing everything in its power to ensure that their families can get home safely.”

“The Minister of Transportation often boasts about Ontario having some of the safest highways in North America. But as a truck driver, I see a different reality,” says Travis McDougall of Truckers for Safer Highways. “I witness reckless driving, poor decision-making, and a lack of respect for the road. Many skilled, experienced drivers are leaving the industry due to safety concerns and unsustainable working conditions. We, truck drivers, used to be called ‘brothers of the highway.’ Now, it would be more realistic to call us ‘survivors.’ The past few weeks have been a stark reminder of the dangers we face, particularly in Northern Ontario.”

“Simulation training is used in many other jurisdictions across the world for many reasons,” says traffic safety advocate Mark Andrews.

“The need to have our Commercial drivers better trained is vital if we are to see a reduction in collisions. The first time a driver experiences winter condition, ice, snow another vehicle pulling in front of them should be in a simulator not on our highways.”   

This proposed legislation adds to MPP Bourgouin’s previously introduced private member’s bills that sought to improve highway safety by changing the class of highways in northern Ontario and making it illegal to pass on a double solid yellow line.