Folks in Golden, B.C., smile when you ask about the white-knuckled drivers who pass through town on their way to Vancouver. Cars with out-of-province plates pull up to local gas pumps, their drivers literally shaking from the experience of having negotiated their way through the Kicking Horse Canyon. With its hairpin turns and 10% grades, this stretch of TransCanada Highway bisecting the Alberta-B.C. border is formidable even in good weather. Add snow, raw skills in the hills, and a rush delivery schedule and you’re a leading candidate for the “Wall of Flame,” a haunting collection of heavy-truck accident reports cluttering the walls of the local weigh scale.

In 1991, there were plenty of accidents to post. Stats showed that truckers were driving no better than the weekend tourist in a rented Cavalier. Commercial vehicles account for 15% of the traffic and are involved in 15% of the accidents. But of the accidents they were involved in, truckers were responsible for about half.

Largely out of frustration about the number of mishaps in the canyon, Dan Boyer, then of the RCMP detachment in Golden, organized a town-hall gathering of fleet safety managers, drivers, enforcement officers, and government officials to talk about how to make the trip though the canyon a safer one. Truckers had a few beefs of their own: rest stops were few, brake-check areas were muddy pits, and the lines of communication between truckers and enforcement personnel was about as tangled as a pile of rusty tire chains.

“It was an eye-opener for everyone,” says Boyer. “There was a lot to talk about.”

Enough to schedule another get-together the following spring. The meeting Boyer organized-now called the Golden Transportation and Communication Safety Seminar-has since become one of the largest annual gatherings of its kind, bringing together local trucking operations, law enforcement, and government agencies. Now going on its tenth year, the meeting has succeeded because organizers have avoided the kind of patronizing bureaucracy that brings town-style meetings to a standstill.

“There would be no, ‘Good question; we’ll take that back to the office and put a committee together,’ ” Boyer says. Questions were solicited ahead of time so an answer would be ready for the meeting. Questions about animal barriers and overpasses went straight to the biologists who ordered them. Inquiries about the lack of rest areas went directly to the appropriate person at Parks Canada. Questions about weigh scales went to the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia. Questions about passing lanes went to the Minister of Highways or the minister’s immediate representative.

Not only did the regimented format make the seminars more productive, it prevented panelists from being target practice for angry truckers. And a no-nonsense moderator moved things along, ensuring that meetings didn’t get bogged down in endless loops of accusations and recriminations.

By all accounts, the seminars have had a dramatic impact on the number and type of accidents in the canyon. “In 1990, we had 89 commercial vehicle accidents, which was about 15% of accident pattern,” Boyer says. “By 1995, we were getting approximately 15 to 20 accidents involving commercial vehicles. And most of those were minor; they were no longer the big fatal accidents that shut down the highway for a day.”

Participation, meantime, has swelled. At the first meeting in 1991, fewer than 20 trucking companies were represented. By 1995, before Boyer was transferred out of Golden, 72 trucking companies were represented. In addition to the commercial haulers, regular attendees include truck driver training schools, computer vehicle-tracking companies, police, ICBC personnel, dangerous goods enforcement officers, representatives from Agriculture Canada, the Ministry of Transportation and Highways, the Ministry of Forestry, road construction and maintenance contractors, tour operators, and community groups.

Elizabeth Keam, a weigh-scale operator who has been involved with the meetings since their inception, says the drive is always on to get more representation from truckers at the meeting.

“More truckers means more opinions,” she says. “I’d like to see owner-operators and the little companies of four or five trucks because their opinion is just as valid as the large companies. Everybody needs to work together.”

Since the seminars started, there have been a number of improvements to the highway between Cochrane, Alta., and Kamloops, B.C. Rest stops have been added. Brake check areas have been paved or cleaned up. Washroom facilities have been added along the route. Access lanes have been added before and after pull-off areas. Signs have been added or changed. And perhaps most importantly, communication has improved.

RCMP Corporal John Gillen, who has been involved with the seminar since Boyer left, says the meeting is held in spring, largely because winter problems are still fresh in everyone’s mind, and it’s a good time to announce plans for upcoming road work. It also serves as a reminder to the challenges of driving during the summer tourist season. “Our traffic volume skyrockets,” he says. “Four-wheelers don’t understand the challenges of manoeuvring a rig through these mountains, and truckers sometimes don’t show very much patience with people who are on the roads for pleasure, not business.”

After each seminar, organizers get feedback from participants as well as ideas for future agenda items. Stan Pedersen, area manager for DCT Chambers Trucking Ltd., in Vernon, B.C., says the meetings have been an excellent resource. “We’re always interested in better safety practices and improving relations with law enforcement officers and weigh scale operators,” he says. “One year it was suggested that, for safety’s sake, it might be a good idea to wear high-visibility vests when you step out of the cab if you have a break-down on the side of the road. I took that to the drivers, and it’s become part of the way we operate.”

He says he always comes prepared with questions, and usually gets good answers. “It keeps us in tune with the police force in that area,” he says. “There’s a lot of traffic going through there and if they have concerns, we want to know about it.”