38 www.thesafetymag.com/ca
S P O N S O R E D S P E C I A L F E A T U R E
suggestions and proposed potential
controls to address the primary causal
factors and identified systemic
weaknesses in the industry," says
Michelle Roberts, IHSA director,
stakeholder and client engagement.
"IHSA is proud of our work as an
advocate for improving professional
truck driver training, non-compliant
carrier enforcement and the
importance of driver mental health and
wellness. This work is a strong first
step toward meaningful changes for
safer and healthier workplaces for
professional truck drivers."
Designate truck driving
as a Red Seal skilled trade
Given the size of vehicles being
operated on public roads, the skill and
knowledge required to safely inspect
and operate them and the high-risk
MAKING
ONTARIO'S
ROADS SAFER
Driver fatigue has been identified as a top health
and safety risk for trucking operations in Ontario.
How can Ontario's general trucking sector address
driver fatigue among professional drivers?
IN
November 2019, Ontario's
Ministry of Labour, Training and
Skills Development (MLTSD) in
partnership with the Infrastructure
Health and Safety Association (IHSA)
organized a group of industry experts
that met for two days to determine the
root causes of driver fatigue in Ontario's
trucking sector. As part of their work,
they also developed critical controls and
specific activities that could be put in
place to address driver fatigue in
Ontario's general trucking industry.
The list of the top 10 causes of driver
fatigue, as identified by workers,
supervisors and employers in Ontario's
trucking sector, ranks the factors
according to their likelihood of
contributing to driver fatigue. Traffic
conditions, unhealthy lifestyles, mental
health, lack of education to recognize
driver fatigue and training gaps in
licensing all appear in the top five
causal factors.
More detailed information on the
top causes of driver fatigue among
professional truck drivers can be found
in the accompanying technical paper,
Root cause analysis report of driver
fatigue among professional truck
drivers in Ontario, available at ihsa.ca/
driverfatigue.
Identify solutions and controls
After identifying the top 10 causal
factors of driver fatigue, the industry
representatives identified possible
solutions and controls for the top-
ranked risks. During the discussions,
similar themes and proposed controls
kept emerging that informed five key
recommendations:
1. Classify truck driving as a skilled
trade (i.e., Red Seal)
2. Review and address critical training
gaps in mandatory entry-level
training (MELT)
3. Make graduated licensing for all
truck drivers mandatory
4. Increase enforcement of non-
compliant carriers
5. Promote mental health and wellness
among professional truck drivers.
These recommendations provide a
foundation for reducing driver fatigue by
focusing on systemic causal factors and
not just the symptoms of driver fatigue.
The trucking industry should focus
immediately on addressing these five
key recommendations.
"The group of industry experts
shared their experience, made
