(UPDATE: Dec. 14 @ 9:55 am) - NowMedia has confirmed with the BC Highway Patrol that the trucking company that has had its operations suspended in British Columbia for a dangerous pass on Hwy 5A earlier this month is not Ontario-based Peace Transportation.
The pass by a Peace Transportation driver took place on Dec. 9, but the incident that Transportation Minister Rob Fleming and BCHP Cpl. Mike Halskov have referred to over the past 24 hours happened a week earlier.
That was correctly reported by NowMedia, as seen in the update below in the update from Monday at noon.
Halskov said he hadn't even seen the incident from Dec. 9 until it was brought to his attention today, but has since confirmed to NowMedia that CVSE caught up to the Peace Transportation driver a short time later and issued them a ticket.
Although Peace Transportation has been identified online in connection to that ticket, he explained that he and Fleming purposely did not report the name of the trucking company involved in the pass that led to the suspension.
"We’re not going to out them that way, because that’s not really the point," he noted.
"The point is, the actions of one driver can have long-reaching ramifications for the trucking company, which may include a national safety code audit, which can impact their operations during the term of the audit."
He confirmed in a release this morning that the company's licence to operate in BC has been suspended pending the national audit and that suspension affects 171 trucks.
Halskov also told NowMedia that these incidents are being "committed by the minority" of truck drivers, but they're causing the biggest safety issues on BC highways and that's the biggest concern.
"It’s interesting that a lot of these incidents are being reported by people in the trucking industry, drivers themselves, that are clearly unhappy enough with what they’re seeing that they’re leaking it out," he said.
"We encourage people to contact BCHP with video and we can follow up with an investigation with our partners like the CVSE."
(UPDATE: Dec. 13 @ noon) - Dash cam footage of a commercial truck making what the BC Highway Patrol called a "dangerous and unprofessional" pass on Hwy 5A earlier this month has resulted in the company's licence to operate in British Columbia being suspended.
Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming confirmed the suspension today during a briefing, although he did not confirm what company the truck belonged to.
"While the CVSE (Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement) is going to continue its investigation and has audited the company, that evidence has directly led to a suspension," he explained.
"Let me be clear, the vast majority of truck drivers are doing the right thing, they’re safe and responsible, they're professionals and we depend on them to deliver the products we need."
Fleming said that law enforcement presence on routes like Hwy 3 and Hwy 5A has been increased while the routes are busier than usual thanks to multiple highway closures in the province.
According to the minister, there have been 116 speeding tickets issued along Hwy 3 so far in December and the Province has "zero tolerance" for unsafe driving on that route.
(Original story: Dec. 3 @ 10:20 am) - With most highways between the Lower Mainland and BC Interior closed due to the recent storms, truckers are relying on different routes to navigate their way through the province.
For now, commercial vehicles are relying on Hwy 3 between Hope and Princeton, which has two usually-quiet routes very busy.
Those routes are Hwy 3 between Princeton and Keremeos, as well as Hwy 5A between Princeton and Hwy 97C.
Hwy 5A is a narrow two-lane highway that is certainly not meant to accommodate a large amount of commercial traffic.
As a result, the detour is a slow one and BC government officials have urged all traffic to drive carefully, but the one semi driver didn’t get the memo.
They were caught on video passing another semi on the route by crossing a double yellow line while navigating a fairly sharp curve.
The BC Highway Patrol caught wind of the video on Twitter and responded that BCHP commanders in the area have been advised and will look into the incident.
“The words dangerous and unprofessional come to mind,” the BCHP replied. “Please don't sacrifice safety for speed - we get the pressures you are under.”
Transportation BC also responded to the video and said that Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement is aware and their staff will be following up with the carrier involved.
