Rash of Logging Truck Crashes Sparks Alert
Thursday, October 24, 2013 @ 4:00 AM
Prince George, B.C.- The BC Forest Safety Council has issued an alert in the wake of a rash of serious incidents involving logging trucks.
There have been five incidents, two of which resulted in fatalities, in the past week.
· Saturday, Oct. 19th, a motorcyclist on the Sea to Sky Highway was killed when hit by logs that spilled from a logging truck.
· Monday, October 21st, a logging truck driver lost control on the Nisga’a highway north of Terrace. Although there were no injuries reported, logs were spilled, a guard rail damage, and fuel leaked into a stream.
· Tuesday October 22nd An empty logging truck went off Highway 97 at the Cottonwood bridge north of Quesnel. The driver was deceased at the scene .
· Wednesday October 23rd. A logging truck wento out of control on Highway 101 and struck a concrete barrier near Madeira Park on the Sunshine Coast. The Trailer went over the barrier and into a ravince pulling the truck with it. No injuries reported
· Wednesday October 23rd. A logging truck failed to make a turn on the Squilax-Anglemont turnoff from the Trans Canada Highway near Chase. The driver reported two tires on the trailer blew out just before the incident. No injuries reported.
In the alert issued last evening, BC Forest Safety Council says it is premature to speculate on the cause of these incidents, which are still under investigation , but adds “These recent incidents have the public concerned about log truck safety. The media, on behalf of the public, quite rightly is questioning if loads are secured and checked, if vehicle inspections are being done, if trucks are in good mechanical shape, if loads are within weight limits, if speed is a factor and if drivers’ hours at work are a factor.”
The alert urges the industry and drivers to “pause and reassess their trucking operations to make sure all safety requirements and best practices are being met.”
Road safety was an issue brought to the attention of the Committee which conducted a budget consultation session in Prince George a week ago.
During her presentation to the Committee, the Central Interior Logging Association’s MaryAnne Arcand called for increased staffing levels of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement branch. She expressed concern over heavy trucks , ill prepared for a northern winter, hauling heavy equipment from the U.S. to resource extraction areas that are far off the beaten track. She also expressed concerns about staffing levels at the weigh scale in Red Rock. “More often than not, the scales will be closed when you drive by them and those things are in place for safety reasons and accountability.”Arcand told the committee there are more and more extraordinary loads travelling through the region, “A couple of years ago, there were about 14 such permits issued for travel though our region. Last year there were more than 1500, so many the Ministry had to appoint a person to do just extraordinary load permits.” She says the expectation is there will be more and more truck traffic through the region, hauling heavy equipment and items needed for resource extraction.
Ironically, Arcand says the Road Health Safety conference that was supposed to take place in Prince George earlier this month had to be cancelled because registration numbers were too low “We don’t know if that is because people are so busy trying to get the job done at a time when staff levels are low, but we will try to reschedule the conference during spring break up when people have time to attend.”
But to start, the BC Forest Safety Council is calling on logging truck operators to make those safety checks:
- Regular inspections of your rigging, tires, brakes and other components are essential to a successful day.
- Proper load securement is key to a successful trip. Properly loaded logs and well-maintained wrappers and bunks are necessary.
- Overweight loads spell trouble. They increase stopping distance, impair vehicle dynamics and decrease truck stability.
- Fatigue is a common contributor to many Motor Vehicle Incidents. Make sure you regularly get off-duty time (at least enough to comply with Hours of Service requirements). A healthy diet and adequate hydration is a good start, but when you are feeling a little worn out, pull over and hop out for a quick walk-about (during which you can re-check your tires). A 20-minute nap can do wonders. A well-rested driver is sharper and will react faster when something goes wrong.
The BC Forest Safety Council reminds the industry that log truck drivers deliver over 1.5 million loads a year in BC. “ It only takes a handful of incidents for the public to lose confidence in our ability to keep them safe. Each load needs to be delivered safely.”
Comments
Oh yeah…..the boss is going to love it when I pull over for my 20 min nap! I wonder if the mill can adjust our dump times around my nap time?
Any boss with half a brain will allow drivers to take breaks,yes even to take a power nap. At least the companies I drove for. They make more money with the shiny side up.
I would like to know how many of the accidents involved lease operators or company trucks.
Truck drivers should be treated as a trade like they are in Europe. They should also start swabbing at the scales,but that would eliminate 30-40% of drivers
Why is it that “logging” trucks always get picked on? No one seems to raise a flag about all the other trucks that have accidents as well.
There are probably a lot more of them than logging truck accidents.
cougs78: What is swabbing?
likely testing for drugs.
“They should also start swabbing at the scales,but that would eliminate 30-40% of drivers”
Post your source of these numbers.
With the money spent on the RedRock scales why are they closed at any time?
That rate of 30 to 40% is the rate of alcohol and drugs found in drivers who had a fatal accident.
“Roadside surveys in British Columbia (Beirness and Beasley, 2011b) have shown that drug use rivals alcohol use by drivers at night, with 10% of drivers having been drinking and 7% having been using other drugs, although about 10% of drug users had been drinking as well. The most common drugs detected were cannabis, cocaine, and benzodiazepines.”
So, 17% total based on roadside surveys.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/tp-tp15145-1201.htm#s34
“my question is who is going to pay for all these tests..in the onset anyways.
i know ultimately it will bounce back to the public in the form of higher taxes, or higher prices for goods.”
Who do you think is paying for it now?
Increases to ICBC rates, increases in roadside inspections due to publicity such as this, either way we are paying.
It is just a decision on where you want your money spent? In my opinion I would rather spend money on tougher enforcement, mandatory drug testing, and better training. The cost would, over time, without a doubt be cheaper for the public and the trucking industry. Safer highways and I am sure paying a little more in training and compliance would be a lot cheaper than operating a trucking company with chronic substance abuse and minimal trained drivers.
I don’t think there is a problem with logging trucks specifically. I think they get singled out when an accident like what happened in Whistler happens. One bad apple ruins the bunch.
The scales are like an audit in finance. We don’t have auditors checking every single statement a company makes. An audit is a spot check that can come at any time and any place and it is this unpredictability of when one meets enforcement that is the deterrent.
The South scales may not always be open, but from what I see when they are not open they are almost always on the highway in surprise locations. Recently they set up shop at least once a week at the top of Mud River Hill on the brake check pull out… I see them out at Salmon Valley at the double pull out, Whiskers Point, Pine River rest stop… ect ect. This is far more effective than if they just stayed at the South scales 24/7. I have even seen them on the Old Cariboo quiet often in the school zone. Mary Anne is off base if she thinks more enforcement is needed. Creating more red tape is not the answer… she should get out more.
Anyone abusing substances is far more likely to get caught in a surprise road check than at a permanent scale location. That said I highly doubt 10% are impaired… maybe 1% would be more accurate. Its anyone’s guess.
From my experience I have never heard of a trucking company that complains about a person stopping for a short snooze if they are tired. Most drivers don’t take their 15 minute coffee breaks and half hour lunch or what not, so the rare time one stops for a snooze is take back time in a way. Unlike other professions one can not simply stop their truck on the highway and take a break, so they take a few minutes when they can for a lunch or what not, usually while loading or unloading.
Sleep time though is a big issue for the trucking industry. So may things can hinder a good sleep and for drivers they don’t get the option of not being fully alert during their shift. All the red tape in the world will not change a noisy neighbor, or a family emergency, sleeping shift work ect ect.
The biggest danger on the highway nowadays I think is the automatic transmissions. They have far less control by the driver than a full standard has. The auto’s free wheel more on hills, anti jack knife brake applications at the worst possible times on ice, spin out easier, complacency as the truck nearly drives itself, and they become dangerous if the engine stalls. The biggest thing is they can be driven by anyone with no experience… company can hire anyone and put them in one of these to steer down the road and they don’t learn how to roll a hill, ride a gear, and can assume its just like driving their car. So you end up with drivers with no real experience in a truck that damn near drives itself.
Personally I don’t think the automatics are a safe truck to drive in the winter, they get worse fuel mileage, and they enable too many drivers to be on the road that otherwise wouldn’t be. Companies buy them because they can hire anyone for a seat cover, and they say they are less to maintain. IMO the move to automatics is the biggest safety issue today in trucking, and it has little to do with the driving skills of the driver.
“From my experience I have never heard of a trucking company that complains about a person stopping for a short snooze if they are tired”…..gee what planet do you come from?
In the logging industry no one and I mean no one stops for a “snooze” no matter how tired they are. There are turn arounds to be met and if one truck falls out of place the rest get balled up too. Working hours for some are long, 14 to 15 hour days can be the norm for some outfits and others may work only 10 dependant on many things but a little “snooze” either way is non existent, in fact it is down right laughable, ask any log truck driver. Maybe years back you could catch a few Zzz’s while waiting to get loaded, but nowadays everything is so fine tuned they don’t even have time to fart. Little wonder no one wants to work in the industry as reported by yesterday’s citizen article.
Want to make logging trucks safer? Start with the mills that they deliver to. The sawmills set the truckers “turn-around times”, most often these times are determined by someone driving in a pick-up and doesn’t factor in breaks, safety walk-arounds, bathroom breaks or poorly maintained roads. So, once the driver makes it to asphalt he has to make up time. Turn-around times factor in with weights hauled in order to figure out $$. Trucking companies and their employees need to band together and negotiate with the mills to create a safer environment for everyone, otherwise these incidents will continue and it may be your family (or mine) involved in one of these horrific accidents.
You hit the nail on the head watchdog.
Five recent big rig crash’s last week what the hell is going to happen when winter road conditions kick in ?
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