Alberta farmers won’t need MELT to drive a truck
As of April 1, Alberta’s Class 1 licensing and training changes will exempt the province’s farmers and their immediate family from mandatory entry-level training (MELT), providing them with a farm-restricted Class 1 driver’s license.
This will allow them operate Class 1 vehicles within Alberta alone, and for authorized farm purposes only.
Farmers eligible for the new licence must still complete a knowledge test, road test and vision screening. They also have to undergo a driver medical assessment.
The exemption is a first step to alleviate the trucking shortages that impact farms and ranches, Brodie Haugan, the chairman of Alberta Beef Producers, said in a news release.
“This exemption aids farmers in overcoming time and financial hurdles and prevents the migration of agricultural drivers to commercial trucking,” added Roger Chevraux, Alberta Canola’s chairman.
There are currently more than 149,000 licensed Class 1 drivers in the province. Only thirty-one per cent of them are employed as truck drivers. The province hinted at other changes that will be coming to the commercial driver training in the province.
“Getting the right people with the right training behind the wheel is critical to the province’s commercial transportation industry and economy. This new made-in-Alberta learning pathway will help train more drivers while securing safety on the province’s highways,” said Doug Paisley, chairman of the Alberta Motor Transport Association.
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Totally disagree, Virtually every farmer and family member has been driving large equipment for years before getting their class 1 license. This is for Farmers and Family, not employees.
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Thank You
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Your article does not mention anything about the Air Brakes course, which is mandatory in regular Class One training. Your article specifically lists the driver’s medical, knowledge test and road test. Please clarify if this requirement is also dropped as mandatory?
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Alberta Transportation website states that the farm-restricted Class 1 driver “will not be required to complete pre-licensing or air brake training.”
Saskatchewan eliminated its mandatory Class 1 training exemption for farmers driving semi-trucks for agricultural operations on March 1, 2021. Farmers need to take the full 121.5 hours of mandatory training to obtain a Class 1 license in that province.
I feel badly for the Humboldt families.
This is going the wrong way. We should be having them to have to take melt training even for class 3. They are travelling more and more miles all the time using the same highways that we all are and should have to have the same training. We are all having trouble getting drivers and this is going the wrong way.
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Great news, looks like some of these comment work for the agencies that run these overpriced courses.
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Agree
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Good Day,
I really don’t know if this is a good idea especially for those farmers hauling livestock, animals moving in trailers add a degree of challenges. I also think that even on the farm driver,s should have had some time in training , I remember spending a lot of time in the passenger seat before being allowed to drive.
Another exemption for farmers. Is there any law/regulation they have to actually follow? Their real issue is that the economics of agriculture have to change so that farmers get an adequate income from their work rather than have it siphoned off by huge corporations that control the food markets.
Do something about that so they have better incomes, then make them follow the same regulations everyone else does.
There should be some classroom compliance training time. Young or New farmers need to hear the rules of trucking and rules of the road even if they bring the experience gained by being around large equipment on the farm. A minimum two hour evaluation by a training school should also be an extra layer of proving confidence and ability in a tractor trailer. The same routine should apply to class three drivers as well.
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Keeping it simple and economical at the same time is good.
Most of these farmers have spent their entire lives operating heavy machinery and know what they are doing.
We know who’s causing the accidents and thats what needs to be addressed. Drive from Vancouver to Calgary and you see who’s driving and crawling out of the wrecks.
I see it weekly on every trip.
Tim
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You don’t have to be out west to see who is causing the accidents. Highway 11 and 17 in Northern Ontario kills people all the time because of new Canadian drivers who can’t drive!
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I think letting it the way it was was good-our guys all took training it costs 12000.oo plus hotels and food it pays of to do it right we farm to
A truck is a truck and whether it’s a farm truck or commercial truck it can be a deadly weapon in the hands of a poor driver. I don’t think exemption should be given to anyone on the road with the public.
This is bullshit another crying for the farms the cry the government gives in
Just not right another excuse smoke screen .SO HOW DID THIS MAKE HIGHWAYS SAFER??? JUST LIKE ALL COMPANY FUNDED DRIVER TRAIN SCHOOLS THE WHOLE INDUSTRY IS AJOKE .PEOPLES NEED TO BE ACOUNTABLE FOR THERE DICUSSIONS…
There should be no exemption for proper training for any reason. Safety on our roadways is extremely important. Just look at all the accidents and incidents caused by lack of proper or any training of all drivers not just trucks.
BIG MISTAKE ! If safety is FIRST, then rules should apply to ALL !
Many of these units travelling further and further to their distribution markets, many overweight and many pieces not able to pass safeties.
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I do not care how old they and a hole in the floor but we need good brakes good tires and steering systems plus proper training if on a gov road . This a very bad idea a much better idea would be for the gov work to provide training in the months of Jan for in class and February to March for the toad training and provide this as a option to bring in up to 5000 truck drivers and equipment operators and send them.back the first of Dec pay them.$24 hour plus overtime for the first 1800 hours ( first season) plus a travel trailer to live next year $28 cd per hour plus overtime after 10 hours per day plus a travel trailer to live and travel with the harvest the next April they should be able to go on the open market and work in the oil fields or construction as well as drive trucks
One reason guys work with class 1 license don’t want to drive truck is because there’s too much stressful nonsense to deal with trucking for the pay. Trucking companies can’t afford to pay more because the cost of running a trucking company is too high with fuel and repairs and insurance. Trucking rates need to go up by 20% or fuel and insurance down by 30%
For guys out in the country and grew up around trucks his whole life that MELT program is absolutely useless.
Kids growing up on a farm and around trucks get way more than 40 hours of training on the passenger seat.
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Agree
Wasn’t mandatory entry level training initiated because of the Saskatchewan tragedy. Older experienced farmers I trust but what about the inexperienced younger ones.
If only 31 % of Alberta’s Class 1 drivers are employed in the industry maybe employers should look in the mirror asking why.
I am sorry but if they are going to drive a class 2 unit then they should have to do the proper training. Which includes air brakes as well.
I have a simple question if a farmer is driving a truck and something happens because he or she lost control and ran over some body is that person he ran over not just as dead as a commercial truck ran him over. They should have to have the same qualifications as a commercial driver
Mistake on my previous comment. It was supposed to be class1 license or any license where you have air brakes on the unit
A truck is a truck is a truck.
No one should be allowed in a Class 8 Power Unit without proper training.
MELT is a poor excuse for an Entry Level Driver Training Program to begin with.
We have too many inexperienced individuals making decisions on things they don’t know about.
Farmers should always consider the value having a fully unrestricted licence can bring to their career options. Speaking with one farmer who was upset that he just paid 11k for his son in law to complete melt. When we compared the restricted and full melt, he was actually happy that his son in law had that option. He’s now able to work elsewhere in the off season.
I drove truck for 32 yrs . Had to give up my license because I had to go on dialysis and had to be hooked to a machine for 3 days a week for 5 hrs a day. I had to let my license go as I was unable to find work to allow for so much time off. I now can help a farmer but there should be grandfather right s for guys who have experience to help out farmers. Shouldn’t have to jump through so many hoops to help out and feel useful again.
I drive truck to BC through the mountains year round and I see a lot of truck accidents. Most are very preventable. It’s definitely not farm kids involved in these wrecks so I think this is a good idea . Farm kids grow up learning to drive equipment and trucks .
Once again the farmers get away with not having to follow the same laws as the rest of the trucking industry. A level playing field for everyone. 80 thousand farmer weight is different than 80 thousand commercial weight?
This is great news. Some people will common sense still exist in government , thank God.
Alberta already has a reputation for the worst drivers due to lax rules. Anyone driving a loaded semi has to abide by the same rules.
The problem is 2 that most farm trucks I’ve come to encounter over the years arnt maintained to the same degree at all as a commercial truck a lot of these young guys are what ppl call operators not mechanics weather raised on a farm or not show them a manual slack adjuster ask them how to adjust brakes I doubt there’s many that could tell you the answer unless they are mechanics themselves or are actually in the trucking industry and we all know those Richie bros deals are the newest of the new and in the best shape and road worthy lol all I see in the future is another Humboldt incident or worse cause they are just as much as a deadly weapon with no brakes as they are with inexperienced drivers behind the wheels of them
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We need to put safety first maybe limit new truck drivers to work for a farm.for the first season
I don’t understand our goverment . This was created by the UCP to help protect drivers on the road bot Trucks and cars . So exempting Farmers and Famly place those drivers in the yesteryear instead of trainning them for safety.
Just because their father or grandfather taught them , in no way it doen’t mean that they were not tauggt all the bad habits that creat accdents . Will the not be travelling on the same hiways as all the other trucks ??? So again why are they exampt ?
This is a very big mistake. We need all truck drivers to do a minimum of 80 hours behind the wheel 40 hours in the passenger seat and 80 hours in a glass or on a simulation machine
This is putting profit A head of safety.