The BC Trucking Association is pleased the province is taking first steps to bring in mandatory training for new commercial truckers.

This summer, the Ministry of Transportation will be consulting with trucking groups and stakeholders about what that training would include.

Speaking on the NL Morning Show, president and CEO Dave Earle says one of the pieces to include will be that new truck drivers have exposure and training to handle mountain passes.

“What we’re really pleased with is that government has reached out and has indicated that they want to work with industry right from the get-go, and while other provinces has already put programs in place we can make sure we don’t make some of the same errors that were made and learn from their experiences.”

Earle says it’s incredibly difficult to get all long-haul drivers trained to handle the topography of B.C.

“We do have licensing reciprocity right across North America. As much as when you go on vacation to Florida you can rent a vehicle and drive on your B.C. license, the same is true from an operator coming from there to operate anywhere here. Whatever we put in place has to line up with other jurisdictions. And if it’s awfully hard to train a driver in Fort St. John to work in mountain passes, it’s darn near impossible to do that if they’re getting trained in Nebraska.”

The BCTA and a number of other organizations, including the Kamloops Chamber, have been pushing the Transport Ministry to bring in mandatory entry-level training for truck drivers.