VANCOUVER — Truckers in B.C. were almost two times as likely to be involved in a fatal collision than drivers from Ontario or Quebec, according to a 166-study commissioned by the BC Trucking Safety Council — a industry co-op between the BC Trucking Association and WorkSafeBC.

In fact, the study — titled "Best Practices for Truck Safety" — found that B.C. truckers are the most crash prone in Canada.

They were to blame for 18.9 percent of fatal accidents in Canada, compared to 10 percent in Central Canada; 14.8 percent in the rest of the West; and 12.2 per cent in the Atlantic Provinces.

According to a report by The Vancouver Sun, there were 470 fatal accidents in B.C., but the truck driver was the fatality in only 20 per cent of them.

B.C. drivers involved in crashes, tended
to be older than in other regions

The study, conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, also found that drivers of the other vehicles involved were found to be more often at fault, which is inline with virtually every study comparing truck-car cash rates. In B.C., specifically, 57 percent of non-truck vehicles were to blame.

The newspaper reports that speeding, fatigue, impairment by alcohol or drugs, undivided roads; and poor weather and road conditions were the key contributing factors.

“The truck drivers in B.C. were more likely to have been considered to be inattentive or impaired by alcohol or drugs compared to drivers from (some) other regions," the report said.

BCTA President Paul Landry points out, though, that B.C. had the lowest rates (2.4 per cent) in the country when it came to truckers having more than the legal limit of alcohol in the system, adding that while it needs to be "looked at" it’s not a "major factor" in highway deaths.

Also, B.C. drivers involved in crashes, tended to be older than in other regions (59 percent compared to 40).

Landry said the study shows the "vast majority" of truckers are safe and continuously improving their records. He says the industry would do well to develop a “sharing the road program” aimed at other drivers, since "the untold story" is they are most likely responsible in car-truck crashes.