Truck drivers want more training, MELT falling short: Survey
Surveyed Canadian truckers want future truck drivers to undergo substantially more training than they did themselves, with almost half expressing concerns about mandatory entry-level training (MELT) requirements.
Fifty-one percent of those who responded to a monthly Pulse survey of Today’s Trucking readers said mandatory entry-level training has failed to improve the quality of entry-level truck drivers.
Twenty-six percent said students should complete up to 125 hours of formal training before being licensed to drive, while 12% set the benchmark at 125-149 hours, 29% at 150-299 hours, 18% at 300-599 hours, and 15% at 600 hours or more.
In contrast, 59% of those who were surveyed received less than 100 hours of formal training before being licensed themselves.
Provinces have agreed to set minimum standards at 103.5 hours of driver training, and 8.5 hours for air brake endorsements, although several jurisdictions have set higher benchmarks. Saskatchewan and Alberta, for example, require 121.5 hours of training, and B.C. requires 140 hours.
About three in every four (74%) respondents said the activities of newly licensed tractor-trailer drivers should be restricted by a graduated licensing system, and 82% said newly licensed tractor-trailer drivers should need to complete formal apprenticeships.
Thirty-seven percent said newly licensed drivers should spend one to six months with an experience co-driver and in-cab mentor before working on their own. Twenty-seven percent said two to four weeks would suffice.
However, 40% said today’s tractor-trailers are “definitely” easier and safer to operate than previous generations of equipment, and 45% said they were “somewhat” easier and safer.
The survey had 222 respondents.
Complete survey results will be published in the coming edition of Today’s Trucking magazine.
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Surveys are a great way to reveal that the majority of people, particularly those within the industry, have pre-conceived misconceptions regarding MELT–it was never intended to create the `perfect` tractor trailer driver. In addition, many carriers are unwilling to implement the expected further effective training steps, nor are they willing to provide the mentoring required to bring the newly-minted Class A or Class 1 driver toward an acceptable level of safety and professionalism.
Effective training at the MELT level, coupled with the above-mentioned further steps, is sadly lacking. It appears that those who have no experience as professional drivers and have no credentials/experience as effective and qualified educators in the transportation industry are `running the show`. Furthermore, there is no political will to ‘do it right’. Good luck to the industry–check the stats and get back to me…
Problem is not MELT – yes it definitely has issues and more improved training is always better. MELT is only designed and used to get you to challenge a road test. It does not train for the industry. The real issue is that once you pass the joke of a MTO road test someone can legally hand you the keys with no further training mandated.
Hi-In my opinion after 60 years in the trucking industry the government has to structure a “serious” ongoing training program over a year within the fleet trucking companies. The many varieties of freight are a craft individually eg. produce-lumber-chemicals-steel-constuction materials. unskilled drivers have taken many lives the last 25 years and driving schools closed due to circumventing the system.
Truckers for Safer Highways would definitely agree that the MELT program is not nearly thorough enough for training new drivers that have no prior industry experience.
We are facing colleagues on our highways that are less prepared than ever and more dangerous as well. More must be done to improve the skill of all new drivers entering the industry.
Melt is a total disaster for drivers with no.or little car driving experience and or limited use of the English or French language in some cases
The whole training program needs a major improvement in my opinion
The problem is a trucking company can spend $3000 to $7000 per driver to do more training
6 months after the training is done or less the person will decide the pay and lifestyle is not worth the time it takes. Or a church base trucking group will help this driver to become a lease op or a driver Inc driver
With strict insurance rules many gov organizations and construction companies and agr ( farms) or imput supplies will be happy to pay $28 to $32/ hrs on payroll or $37 to $42 net gross to lease ops from April to Dec 10 . This means that many drivers become lease ops and go back to certain places in he winter instead of bringing their children to Canada because of the much higher cost of housing. We need a big change in the way the industry is run to make it safer
Speed limters and elogs without hourly pay will result in very turnover . We also need to put all new drivers into 10 weeks of more training with the truck limited to 15 hours of driving and 18 hours o duty a day
The only way in my opinion this will work is we need to set min freight rates on all Non cross border freight of $50 cd a hour plus fuel for dry freight and $53 hrs for reefer plus fuel and unloading and parking fees inside of Canada