Concerns are being raised by the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association about road conditions, especially in the winter months.
Executive Director Chris McKee says changing weather patterns are creating even more hazards for truck drivers.
“Snow removal isn’t as much a big issue anymore as it used to be. We’re now dealing with freeze and thaws that often create black ice. So we really have to be quite diligent with governments to ensure that all jurisdictions are living up to their road clearing standards, and making sure that our roadways are safe.”
He says they have met, or are planning to meet with government officials in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to discuss some of these issues.
“We’ve identified that aligning and improving winter road maintenance standards on the national highway system and across all jurisdictions, is imperative to the safety of the safety on our roadways, the safety of our drivers, but also the productivity of our drivers,” McKee says.
He adds with truck drivers out on the roads all hours of the day, they face some of the worst road conditions.
“There’s also a lack of really safe places to park, lack of proper rest stops along the National Highway System. We look at areas such as the Trans Canada Highway between Fredericton and Perth Andover. That’s a really, really hard patch of highway that when we have bad weather, a lot of times trucks will need to pull off for safety reasons. There’s not a lot of adequate safe parking for them, which means they have to park on roadways or exit ramps, and that creates new safety concerns,” McKee stresses.
The Association feels the government needs to ensure they are meeting their cleaning standards and that contractors are being held accountable.
“We would always welcome continued conversations with the government on increasing safe rest areas with lots of room for truck parking,” McKee adds.
Truck drivers aren’t the only ones impacted by bad road conditions, and McKee states that poor or inconsistent winter maintenance have a ripple effect.
“It creates an environment where drivers don’t feel safe on our roadways, and can often lead to them refusing to work during inclement weather because of safety concerns. This creates a supply chain bottleneck leading to deliveries not being made on time, and that affects the end user of these goods and services, the consumers.”
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