Do we have to wait for Mainstream Media to start fixing our industry? Watching the news this morning a familiar face came across the screen, not the normal person reading from the teleprompter, but a person I had interviewed approximately six months ago myself in Calgary Alberta. Scott Thomas was on the news talking about truck driver training and safety in the industry in general. Not often is the trucking industry talked about on the news at all. If you don’t know Scott Thomas his son was one of the sixteen young hockey players killed in the Humboldt truck / bus crash years ago when a poorly trained truck driver failed to stop at remote road crossing and hit the team bus. Scott was on television talking about the crash and even more strange he was on a major Ontario newscast. I thought to myself trucking finally made the news. When I interviewed Scott he was adamant that his son’s death would not be for nothing and since the crash he has been very vocal in trying to change safety in the trucking industry.
The crash sparked new regulations in the industry called MELT (Mandatory Entry Level Training) which was supposed to make sure everyone on the road had sufficient training behind the wheel but instead has created more ways for potential drivers to be exploited. In the industry the crash has created new Associations such as PTTAC ( Professional Truck Training Association of Canada) hoping to improve training standards across the Country. This has led to further discussions about the industry standards as a whole with discussions about Red Seal Certification much like what exists in Skilled Trades currently. Industry has not forgot about Humboldt, but are we working fast enough? Do enough of us want change in the industry bad enough? We are gaining momentum, but really need to move into the fast lane and use the power of main stream media to educate the public.
April 7th is Green Shirt Day started by another parent that lost a loved one in the Humboldt crash. Again more momentum that needs to be used to change the trucking industry. Alberta has led the charge on Red Seal Certification and made a big announcement that beginning in 2027 it will implement a process for truck drivers to begin the Red Seal process. We as an industry must be willing to save our own industry that has provided good livings for many of us. I challenge each of you to do something today that will make our industry better for the future! We shouldn’t be waiting for main stream media to report on the bad image of transportation, we should be feeding them the news of all the changes trucking is doing to make our roads safer. Learn about Green Shirt Day here.
If you want to see and hear Scott’s message he will be presenting at the upcoming National Recruiting and Retention Symposium for Transrep on April 29th in Burlington Ontario. Tickets are still available for this event on Transrep’s website. You won’t want to miss this event!
About the Author
Bruce Outridge is the host and producer of The Lead Pedal Podcast, Lead Pedal Radio, and Lead Pedal Media. He is a former driver with 25 years experience behind the wheel and has been a respected part of the industry for over 40 years. Listen to the podcast to dive deeper into topics described in this article. Www.theleadpedalpodcast.com
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