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avatar_George

Truck Drivers

Started by George, April 20, 2018, 04:27:33 PM

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George

I was at the Bicycle Summit this week and a fellow from the UK told us that it is mandatory for truck drivers to attend a one day session. Classroom in the morning and riding a bike on the road in the afternoon. It would be a good idea to push for that here.

Shawn

I drive a truck and I can say this won't happen here. The Ontario trucking association already has bicycles on their radar as unlicensed/uninsured vehicles.
As a cyclist that travelled with my bike I hear the complaints all the time,even from owners of companies which pay into the millions for insurance......they see you as getting a free ride. What they pay to operate and what you pay (even through car insurance and fuel tax) is a drop in the bucket to what they pay.

The main reason the OTA hasn't pushed the topic is simply politics. They don't want to look like the bully on the playground. If a cycling lobby throws the first punch,it's  on. Once their membership is forced to pay drivers for attending this "course" (drivers ain't going for free) they'll have the leverage they've been looking for in terms of addressing the licensing/insurance issue. They'll appeal to the motoring public which already sees cyclists as a general nuissance.
Do you think they're going to send thousands of drivers to "school" when you can ride in a pack inches from eachother with zero training? They're liable to table their own proposal that states you must be licensed/insured and educated on heavy vehicles in the process. A "what's good for the goose is good for the gander approach".
(Not many people in cars are going to argue for you on this one and neither are the insurance companies which will simply see you as another revenue stream.)
   It's the kind of attention you don't want to attract.
Also,few politicians are willing to go against such a powerful lobby.


The majority of heavy trucks have dash cams hardwired and I'm sure if the OTA wanted to they could put plenty of lawless cyclists on YouTube to bolster their case in regards to the riding habits of cyclists.

What you want is a group which faces zero regulation(cyclists)to enforce its agenda on a heavily regulated and taxed industry.
The politics and optics will not be in your favor.




Shawn

I have thought about this a little more and it could be implemented.

In order to get companies on board,this proposal would have to be implemented through the first phase of a driver's training which would be driving school.
As long as companies don't have to pay for it or pull driver's away from work and have to give them a days pay...... they'll most likely be fine with it.

Thomas Bruck

How do they do it in France and Italy? Guess everyone has a cyclist in the family. In the Netherlands everybody is a cyclist. I would like to see "educational" commercial on TV and perhaps a few billboards rather than compulsory whatever. BTW the truck drivers are not the worst although their impact might be. On the other hand "education" is less expensive than long term disabilities and loss of income (taxes) and less intrusive to the drivers. We were able to almost eradicate smoking mostly due to "stupid" commercials. There will be still some idiots unconsidered individuals. C'est la vie!