Ontario government to improve northern transportation
THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is thanking the province of Ontario for making good on a 2019 budget promise to review transportation in Northern Ontario.
Government stakeholders will be hosting a series of meetings with the trucking industry and other segments of the northern Ontario economy, including in Thunder Bay, to generate ideas that could achieve these objectives that will make northern communities a better place to invest, live and work.
“There are opportunities to improve road safety in the north as well as health, wellness and amenities for commercial drivers in general, while at the same time improving the flow of goods into and out of Northern Ontario communities,” said OTA senior vice-president of policy Geoff Wood. “This is a win-win for the economy and all the people in northern Ontario, especially the professional truck operators who are the lifeblood of the province’s northern communities.
“OTA looks forward to continuing this dialogue and involvement with the Ministry of Transportation as part of the ongoing process to deliver Premier Ford’s commitment to ensure all business in Ontario are having their needs addressed, regardless of where they are located.”
The OTA says it’s in the process of collecting information on the region’s transportation network. It will provide the province with input on the current state of the region’s transportation network and its future needs and opportunities.
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I sent a comment in the other day I kind of let my frustration out on safety on northern northwestern highways I maybe misread from minister Ontario Trucking but it’s just they have to change something with Ontario laws for getting your Az commercial Licence do they not realize there putting new drivers and alot from countries wair the driving isn’t even close to Canada and letting them go threw a school or obtaining licence pretty easy and then throwing them right onto the hwy to run coast to coast most of them never have driven in snow ice winding hilly roads and at night pitch black on a two lane hwy she has to change some laws and make it mandatory for new drivers after they get license to be paired up with well seasoned experienced drivers for minimum 6 months they have to experience all kinds of weather and learn when you don’t know a road and you come up to a corner and your driving way to fast when winter conditions at night time when harder to see new drivers should be driving slow on new roads the have never travelled and they need to learn if you don’t know a road and its snowy icy and your riding along like it’s summer time and hit a corner to fast they ski across the corner instead of doing a speed for conditions and not knowing road and you power around corner safely np if your doing proper speed there lies the experience part prime example two young drivers 24 and 23 get into a truck neither have driven winter time they only have limited experience from another country with totally different driving to me this is completely crazy I can’t believe there insurance company would even insure a driver with no experience and being so young and on top of it all two of them driving together I just know that so many more innocent drivers are going to be killed on are Hwys could be a family heading to camp or just a trip nobody is safe aslong as they continue to let this happen please minister make changes to the commercial Az license system and to people that come from other countries that don’t have even close to driving conditions that we have then innocent people like my brother who drove hwy for over 25 years gets killed by this very thing that’s happening your in a sense putting drivers into a big how can I say it a big killing machine since July of 2019 till my brother’s crash in January 2020 there have been 9 innocent people killed by inexperienced drivers between Kenora Ontario and Marathon Ontario that’s crazy it’s only going to get worse and another part of reason is these new drivers are being paid less to them it seems great but we’re loosing the experienced drivers cause alot are quiting because of pay this is more of a story I guess but I want the minister to read this and do something about this anyways thank you and to all the good drivers on the hwys be careful be safe and always whatch that truck comming at you cause you never know they always seem to go into oncoming lane never the other way if your driving two lane hwy that has paved shoulder well keep it over on corners cause you never know thanks for my time I classify myself as a very experienced driver myself drove all my 27 years heavy haul superbs and 5 axle trailers but I learned properly and was never cocky always had attitude learning everyday my brother who was a year younger then me like I said had 25 years plus doing same hwy switch every night and it happened I lost him to the very thing I’m talking about two young inexperienced drivers lost control and panniked and like I said they always carve into the oncomming traffic instead of staying or taking ditch on there own side my brother whatched and a witness behind him as the inexperienced drivers came around corner to fast for conditions ski across into there own side of guardrails then driver completely carves the wheel and comes across almost 3 lanes down hill completely straight there truck and trailer my brother had all passengerside tires ridding in snow bank as far over as he could go and he was just starting uphill on passing lane for them my bro and witness he was loaded heavy and it killes me to imagine my brother what must have been going threw his mind as he watched the truck coming at him for they figure 30 to 40 seconds and there was nothing he could do and according to talk with athorities and I’ll never stop asking us why that driver didn’t cut back to almost 3 empty lanes towards his side of road they figured he froze panicked ok that’s all thanks again and Ken I love and miss you so much bro life is hard bro without you by for now