Class 1 Driver's Lic

[the big wheel]

You are of course aware of the cost that will be involved in getting a class 1 in Alberta after March 1. I have been told around $8000. Seems excessive to me!

That depends
If your getting a license to work full time in the patch or elsewhere that's a small amount it pay with relatively little time invested also compared to jobs rhat pay the same where kids go to school for 2 years minimum.

If your a farmer hat needs to drive your old semi spring and fall yes that's expensive.

[Horse]

Because when your driving a class one unit and make a mistake the other people always pay the price.
Also it takes a hell of a lot more skill to drive a semi than a car even if you know rhe rules you still have to know how to brake properly etc.
The industry particularly governments rhatnlet this go on this long really are to blame for that accident. Many truckers would agree they see who's driving and the lack of skill worries rhe best of veteran drivers.

While I agree that a semi and car are a loosing combination,I dont believe more traning is the answer as you cant fix stupid or arogance . What I do believe is the department of highways are to blame for letting those trees block the line of sight,I dont think that accidedent would have happened if the bus driver could have seen the oncoming truck.
Did you notice every picture of the site neglects to show the whole intersection with trees,seems like someone is being protected. Mabey some of you who has driven that highway can correct me.

[the big wheel]

While I agree that a semi and car are a loosing combination,I dont believe more traning is the answer as you cant fix stupid or arogance . What I do believe is the department of highways are to blame for letting those trees block the line of sight,I dont think that accidedent would have happened if the bus driver could have seen the oncoming truck.
Did you notice every picture of the site neglects to show the whole intersection with trees,seems like someone is being protected. Mabey some of you who has driven that highway can correct me.

I agree with that whole heartedly!!
The bus driver who was qualified and driving safely had no chance to defensive drive because of those trees. It still was the other guys fault but I don't care about who's fault the driver would have swerved or even stopped in time without those trees.
The problem is also the lack of credibility in testing. I don't think you can put a time limit on when a person is ready some people can train for a decade and still not be a good driver. I think anyway.

[the big wheel]

And hamloc you have a point also in that someone from a farm for example likely won't need all that training so shouldn't have to pay rhe extra time served. Emphasis should have been more maybe on the actual test??

[farmaholic]

And hamloc you have a point also in that someone from a farm for example likely won't need all that training so shouldn't have to pay rhe extra time served. Emphasis should have been more maybe on the actual test??

Other than experience, how does(why should) a farmer get a free pass for acquiring a 1A,....same equipment and roads. I'm even on the record as stating there should be safeties on farm trucks and trailers. Maybe not on a commercial schedule but milage based for the power unit, trailers might have to be on a time schedule.

[GDR]

Because when your driving a class one unit and make a mistake the other people always pay the price.
Also it takes a hell of a lot more skill to drive a semi than a car even if you know rhe rules you still have to know how to brake properly etc.
The industry particularly governments rhatnlet this go on this long really are to blame for that accident. Many truckers would agree they see who's driving and the lack of skill worries rhe best of veteran drivers.

I agree the weight and size makes a difference but as AB5 says i can pull my stock trailer with 15000lbs of cows behind my 3/4ton.

Big difference for one guy with a tandem trailer running from field to bin versus a loaded btrain running accross the Rockies or travelling through Toronto. Not sure there can be too many classes but the Farm endorsement in Saskatchewan makes sense, wish they'd do that here but thats coming from a farmer and sure others would disagree.

125hrs of instruction is after you have an existing license and in theory already know the rules of the road. Thats a month and a pile of cash!


In the case of the Humbolt driver, his offence was running the stop sign not murdering the team, he is looking at jail time and deportation, if he had been 30 seconds earlier or later the situation would have ended quite different. So whatever his sentance is should that be the new standard punishment for running the stop sign instead of a couple hundred dollar fine? Don't know just askin?

[the big wheel]

Other than experience, how does(why should) a farmer get a free pass for acquiring a 1A,....same equipment and roads. I'm even on the record as stating there should be safeties on farm trucks and trailers. Maybe not on a commercial schedule but milage based for the power unit, trailers might have to be on a time schedule.

I m looking at it from the stand point of being a good driver, most farmers not all have considerable equipment experience that helps make them able to be a good driver sooner than someone who hasn't seen a steeeing wheel of any thing.
But as you said if your a farmer that hasn't driven anything then yes you should require the same training that's what I meant by testing itself should be the focus. The time limit of training is going to help but there still will be idiots with a license if the testing isn't rigorous.

[blackpowder]

I had thought a limited radius farm only would have been adequate to solve the peak season needs at least for the interim. But not for the NDP.

[farmaholic]

Good respectful discussion ladies and gentlemen, better than those political and climate threads.

Thank you.

[helmsdale]

I called early January to book a test for myself before March 1 but the majority of the examiners quit testing in protest of the government changes, most of the remaining examiners are on retraining for new rules and are unable to book road tests before the deadline.

The fact that the examiners are holding people hostage is kind of B.S. To bad they at least be willing to work with people that are on some sort of waiting list prior to the rule change...

[Guest]

While I agree that a semi and car are a loosing combination,I dont believe more traning is the answer as you cant fix stupid or arogance . What I do believe is the department of highways are to blame for letting those trees block the line of sight,I dont think that accidedent would have happened if the bus driver could have seen the oncoming truck.
Did you notice every picture of the site neglects to show the whole intersection with trees,seems like someone is being protected. Mabey some of you who has driven that highway can correct me.

no , no-one is being protected . there are many pics of the whole thing , 18 miles from me . there are hundreds of intersections just like that all over the country , can't believe it, but in a way i even feel sorry for the driver . don't know about anyone else , but i have had some close calls in my 40 + years of driving , some would of been my fault . this is so sad all of the way around . but we must remember , this is someones yard . spruce trees that have taken a lifetime to grow . all of the dead trees east of yard have been piled . visibility is better , but sadly , a stop sign is a stop sign . that was the problem

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I still say this is an over reaction to the wrong issue.

I just looked up the stats in US( what I could find). Big trucks represent 10% of all total miles driven. And from a couple of different sources, I come up with 11% of all fatal accidents where a big truck is involved. That is not the same as being at fault, assume a portion of those are the automobile at fault, I didn't find a stat for that.
So in spite of the fact that in a collision with a big truck, an automobile occupant loses every time, proportionately, they are involved in no more deaths than passenger vehicles.

If anything, I think all drivers should be required to learn about trucks, their stopping distance, acceleration, turning radius, blind spots, behaviour in ice or wind, so that all drivers would give trucks the respect they deserve. Talk to any trucker and they will tell you horror stories about cars pulling out right in front of them and worse.

Having a class 5 is a prerequisite to getting a class 1, so far as I know, the rules of the road must be learned to obtain the class 5, they don't change when you get a class 1, this driver failed to stop at a stop sign, how many ways and times can they teach you to stop at a stop sign in 125 hours? This wasn't a training issue, it was either playing Russian Roulette, busy on cell phone, or fell asleep.