Kamloops Councillor Bill Sarai is looking to lobby the province to increase safety on our roadways by looking at whether the training standards for truck drivers is rigorous enough.

Sarai asked the Thompson Nicola Regional District board of directors for support to take his message to southern interior Local Government Association.

“Therefore resolved that through SILGA, UBCM and the TNRD, the TNRD requests that the Ministry of Transportation and Transit investigate whether driver training standards are satisfactory and rigorous, including for class one and three licensing, air brake endorsement and mandatory entry level training requirements.”

“This is to increase in class and on the road training to meet a higher standard and reach a level of safety that the traveling public should expect from professional drivers and at Mott increase highway enforcement and to investigate and report publicly on the enforcement actions taken against commercial transport trucks by DC highway patrol the commercial vehicle safety and enforcement branch RCMP and other agencies, if applicable.”

Sarai received the support from his TNRD colleagues and the motion will now be taken to SILGA.

If it receives support there, it can then be taken to UBCM and then to the provincial government.

It comes as there continues to be concerns regarding the training standards in the trucking industry as a whole and the safety issues that have been experienced on interior highways.