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By James Menzies
TORONTO, ONT -
Changes to Ontario's AZ
licensing requirements implemented last year, are making it more
difficult for some drivers to maintain their commercial driver's
license.
Ontario introduced a "restricted" Class A/Z license last June, to
close loopholes that were allowing inexperienced drivers to obtain an
A/Z license using small vehicles such as pick-up truck with horse
trailer. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) was embarrassed into
action after a Global TV news reporter obtained a Class A license
without ever driving a tractor-trailer.
Now, drivers must take their road test using a truck with: a
manual transmission; a fifth wheel coupling; a trailer
at least 45-ft. long; and air brakes on the tractor and trailer.
Otherwise, they are downgraded to an A/Z -restricted license, and
able to operate only the configuration in which they completed their
road test. Drivers who had their A/Z restricted for taking their road
test using a truck with an automated transmission are unable to pull
trailers with air brakes, which severely limits the option of a
professional driver.
While the changes were endorsed by industry stakeholders, they were
intended for entry-level drivers - not senior drivers, who in Ontario
must complete a road test every year after the age of 65 to maintain
their commercial license.
Harold Johnson, a two-truck independent owner/operator with his own
client base, says he's been given the rigmarole by DriveTest, the
third-party agency, that conducts Ontario road tests, because both his
trucks have automated transmissions.
He has four million accident-free miles under his belt, most of
them accumulated while driving trucks with manual transmissions.
However, he heard about the safety benefits of new automated gearboxes
and decided to give them a try. Now, he's having a difficult time
renewing his Class A/Z license, because DriveTest won't allow him to
keep his full A/Z if he takes the test with a tractor that has an
automated transmission.
He figures it will cost him $500-$600 to rent a truck for the day
and most places require a damage deposit of $2,000.
"This is discriminatory," he told Truck News. "They're not
supposed to discriminate against me because of my age."
Business is slow, he said, so he may just downgrade his license
rather than deal with the hassle. Johnson is not alone in referring to
Ontario's testing requirements for senior drivers as discriminatory.
Brian Willoughby, an owner/operator who runs a gravel truck with pup
trailer and pintle hook connection has a similar complaint. |
He's also
facing a situation where he must find a more orthodox tractor-trailer
configuration or down grade his license, since the combination he
operates has no fifth wheel and a pup trailer that's shorter than
45-ft.
He says taking his truck off the road for a day every year to take
his road tests costs him about $1,000. To keep an unrestricted A/Z,
he'll have to also pay to rent a tractor trailer.
"As far as I'm concerned, I can drive every bit as good as when I
was 30," said the senior driver with three million accident-free miles
under his belt. "It's a complete screw-up. Why put the most
experienced drivers through the worst test? I'm not ready to retire,
by any means. I'm still in good shape, health-wise. I've never been
sick a day in my life. I can load the truck by hand - do whatever I
need to do."
Kim Richardson, president of respected driving school KRTS
Transportation Specialists, was one of the stakeholders who urged the
province to prevent the use of small vehicles and automatic
transmissions for road tests. However, he said it was never intended
for the same rules to apply to experienced drivers like Johnson and
Willoughby.
"The qualifications (for senior drivers) are the same requirements
as they give driving schools, which is wrong - totally wrong", said
Richardson. "Why should these knights of the road be treated like an
entry-level driver? They're not the same. These guys are pioneers of
our industry, they helped build our industry and have managed to go
millions upon millions of miles accident-free, and then we have a
system that encourages them to give their license up."
Lobby groups representing various segments of the trucking industry
are unanimous in their opposition to Ontario's mandatory road test
requirement for senior drivers.
Doug Switzer, vice-president, public affairs, with the Ontario
Trucking Association, says the MTO continues to tell him that "the
matter remains under consideration by the Minister's office."
When it comes to seniors drivers being subjected to the same
testing procedures as entry-level drivers, Switzer said "I would say
everybody agrees what happened there was an unforeseen consequence."
Adding salt to the wounds are recurring complaints that senior
drivers are held to a higher standard than entry-level drivers when
taking their road tests. Tom Niefer, manager of a southern Ontario
distribution and warehousing company, said his senior drivers are
routinely harassed when they show up to take their annual road tests,
despite the fact they're his safest drivers.
He is now demanding answers from the Ministry of Transportation,
which as of press time had not responded to his letters. Niefer os
particularly concerned about losing his most experienced drivers to
early retirement. He speaks of one driver, in particular, who has 50
years driving experience without an accident and yet was recently
failed by a DriveTest examiner. |
"I have several older
drivers working for me who repeatedly fail their driving tests, yet
when I road test possible new hires it is seldom that a driver with a
newly-minted license can safely operate a truck," he said. "There
should be some method in place where they can determine everyone is
being tested fairly and consistently, but it doesn't appear there's
any mechanism in place to do that."
It seems most of the complaints about the unfair treatment of
senior drivers have come after the province outsourced road tests to
the publicly-traded, for-profit, European-based DriveTest in 2003.
"None of our guys had any problems prior to privatizing," said
Niefer, who went on to question DriveTest's motives. "I operate a
business the same as they do, The bottom line is the tell-all."
"The more failures they get, the more money they make," added
Johnson. "They are a private enterprise. They're in business to make
money."
"This is a publicly-traded company from Europe and they're
motivated by two things: profit and growth," agreed Richardson.
The battle to change the testing requirements for senior drivers is
ongoing on several fronts.
Lobby groups continue to urge the provincial government to revisit
the requirements.
And solo crusaders such as Niefer vow to continue taking it upon
themselves to demand answers from the Ministry.
The OTA's Switzer said it's unlikely the province will agree to a
two-tiered road test - one for entry-level drivers and another for
veterans. But Richardson has a suggestion he feels would solve the
problem.
Why should someone at 65 have to be re-tested?" he asked. "If
you're medically-fit and you have no demerit points, let's do a
written test and if you fail the written test, then you have a
road test." □□
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