Who's in Charge of Speed Limits on Forestry Roads?

Saturday, November 26, 2005 08:34 AM

The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Forests are both examining traffic regulations that apply to forestry roads and highways with a view to improving safety in the forest industry.

Labour Minister Mike de Jong says the two ministries are working to make sure "common-sense and reasonable" regulations are in place to reduce accidents. And Forests Minister Rich Coleman has said his ministry is reviewing staffing levels for this logging season.

But the Central Interior Logging Association says "swift action is needed." In its weekly newsletter, CILA points out that several contractors are moving timber on a forestry road near Vanderhoof -- with some going to Canfor's Plateau Mill, others are bringing loads to their Timber Sales customers. And the association claims there are reports some TS-volume trucks are speeding, driving erratically.

CILA says the mill holds the road permit, but cannot enforce speed limits. There's also confusion over whether the Ministry of Forests or Timber Sales B.C. has the authority to enforce road speeds. This "grey zone" has the Central Interior Logging Association asking, "Who can slow the trucks down, before someone is killed?"

The death of a faller on Vancouver Island last weekend raised the death toll to 40 for the forest-industry this year.

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Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 08:34 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: owl on November 26 2005 9:48 AM

The whole problem here is that those who use the roads really keep on shoving the probelm onot others rather than realizing it is their problem and that of others and they have to get together to solve it.

Here is a solution in Northern Ontario which appears to work. To many around here point fingers, have useless meetings, and do nothing to make a change.

http://www.ofswa.on.ca/thelog/april_2004_online_log/apr_04_page_7.pdf

Posted by: owl on November 26 2005 9:57 AM

from the above: "CILA says the mill holds the road permit, but cannot enforce speed limits."

Read the above linked article and you will notice that it is the 3 licensees who did something about the situation.

It is high time that local licensees take on responsibility to ensure that their contractors work in a safe environment.

Posted by: owl on November 26 2005 2:53 PM

For anyone who has access to the Vancouver Sun on line, read this story from Nov 23.

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=c086f12d-b022-48e0-af45-f3b238c8da90

amongst other things it says ....

"A report that 40 loggers have now been killed in 2005, the worst industrial carnage in the woods in almost 30 years, brings only a sad and ironic sense of deja vu.

This was the year a new B.C. Forest Safety Council launched the "comprehensive strategy to dramatically improve the safety record" recommended by a forest safety study group. Instead we get a fourfold jump in deaths while everybody passes the buck.

Where's the forest minister on this file? Where's the Opposition -- isn't it the worker's party?"

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on November 26 2005 10:58 PM

Have friends and relatives that have been hauling logs for 35 years now. It's the drivers that speed. The mill pays the truck as if they travel the speed limit. Then some dumb driver decides to shave some time off and the war is on. The mill doesn't want to reward bad behavior so they drop the rate. The slower speed limit drivers now make less and the pill popping speeders start giving them a hard time for holding them up. Not a good situation. Any truck that cuts the time to the scale should have the day off. Now there is a shortage of drivers, so the mill doesn't really want to loose trucks. The occasional cops is no good because everyone has a radio. The drivers need to know the cops are going to be out there everyday.