Truck drivers under 'more stress than they've ever been' in B.C., industry leaders say

RCMP have confirmed that a medical emergency was the cause of a commercial truck crash near Nanaimo on Friday.

It was the latest in a series of mishaps involving big rigs on Vancouver Island, something a commercial driving instructor fears we'll see more of unless the industry makes some changes.

Phil Dutton, owner of Parkway Driving Academy on Vancouver Island, drove past the crash on Friday and did his best to analyze it.

Nanaimo firefighters were on scene at the intersection of the parkway and Northfield Road before 1 p.m.

"I could see what the driver had done by hitting the north side barricade and then overshooting it and coming underneath the bridge and rolling his truck and trailer on the side," he said. "It was devastating."

Dutton has been a long-haul trucker for several years and teaches commercial skills through his Parkway Driving Academy.

"Truck drivers right now are under more stress than they've ever been in the past," he said.

"There's not enough [drivers] to haul the amount of commodity that we need in our day to day."

Companies like Island Foods and Freight in Campbell River have also experienced a staff shortage and have had to hire foreign drivers to fill vacancies.

"I think it's a combination of a multiple of things like wages, probably, but there definitely could be some more incentive," said Colin Cameron, general manager of Island Foods and Freight.

"Whether it's training people for their class [one licence] or getting their air brakes and stuff, just some sort of incentive to make them want to do it," he said.

Cameron's freight company hauls inventory from Courtenay to the northern tip of the island with a fleet of 17 rigs.

He'd like to see more public understanding about the issues facing truckers.

"Trucking is kind of all done behind the scenes, so people might not pay attention to it too much," he said. "I think the industry in general needs more awareness."

Dave Earle, president and CEO of the B.C. Trucking Association, says driver shortages have come in waves and hit a low point in 2018 and 2019.

However, he's pleased that more women are now getting behind the wheel.

"How we're doing that is events like we have coming up on Wednesday in Toronto," said Earle. "It's where women leaders and male leaders in the industry come together and discuss successes, challenges, failures."

He also applauds the province for taking the shortage seriously.

"The province has stepped in with a lot of money through various grant programs," he said. "I mean, we've put through several dozen drivers with our members."

Dutton says he was actually on his way back from Victoria, having just met with provincial government officials about the current state of the trucking industry, when he saw the crash near Nanaimo.

"The meeting was about the shortage of truck drivers coming into the industry, the amount of drivers that are exiting the industry," he said.

Dutton also suggests that the government make the class one licence a Red Seal program.

"The technology for trucks has changed, and a lot of the old drivers are still doing it the same way and it's not working for them," he said.

He's looking for any changes that help make island roads safer for truckers, as well as the rest of the motoring public.