Within the past year, the authorities that study traffic problems in Ontario noted an increase in the number of collisions involving transport trucks. For that reason, the legislators in that Province have passed laws that were meant to reduce the reported numbers for such truck-related accidents. Before passing those laws, the legislators analyzed the data that shed light on the causes for a majority of such accidents.

Reported causes for the collisions involving transport trucks

• Driver’s failure to pay close attention to signals, and to the other vehicles on the road
• Driver had high level of fatigue.
• Driver was distracted.
• Driver’s failure to see and react to a road hazard or a dangerous situation
• Truck exceeded speed limit
• Not yielding the right-of-way
• Not signaling when passing
• Not checking in mirror before passing
• DWI; driving after using an illegal drug or a prescribed medication
• Truck’s cargo was not loaded properly
• Truck’s cargo had not been secured.

Ontario chose to address the issue of driver fatigue.

It made no sense to tackle all those causes at the same time. Statistics indicated that the drivers’ fatigue had contributed to a large number of collisions. In fact, it seemed to increase the chances that the person sitting behind the steering wheel might miss the approach of a road hazard, or a dangerous situation.

The new laws put a limit on the number of hours that any one person can sit behind a truck’s steering wheel, while traveling in Ontario. That limit is 13 hours, during any 24-hour period. A second law states that no truck driver should enjoy less than 10 hours of off-time during any one day.

How is the government enforcing the new laws?

The Provincial government has told the drivers of motored, transport vehicles that they must carry some type of log. It can be similar to a journal or diary, or it can be a digital log. Drivers are expected to log-in their hours. Injury Lawyer in Mississauga know that the police have the right to request the driver’s log at any time. The police can look at that log, and see if it matches with the limitations imposed by the law. The punishment for failure to adhere to those limitations would need to match with the driver’s circumstances.

A driver’s role might reflect the fact that he or she owns the driven vehicle. On the other hand, some drivers’ vehicles are owned by a trucking company. Some are owned by a leasing company. Regardless of the identity of the truck’s owner, that transport vehicle could injure someone, if it were to become involved in a collision. Because Ontario’s government recognizes that fact, it has chosen to enforce restrictions, which are supposed to make the roads safer.