{"id":2616,"date":"2019-05-16T13:52:11","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T13:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cantruck.ca\/ctas-action-plan-against-distracted-driving-put-in-motion\/"},"modified":"2025-01-10T16:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T16:47:10","slug":"ctas-action-plan-against-distracted-driving-put-in-motion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cantruck.ca\/fr\/ctas-action-plan-against-distracted-driving-put-in-motion\/","title":{"rendered":"CTA\u2019s Action Plan Against Distracted Driving Put in Motion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Education and training to combat distracted driving could be part of the national, mandatory entry level training (MELT) standard \u2013 a key recommendation in the Canadian Trucking Alliance\u2019s 10-point Action Plan <\/a>to improve truck safety and compliance.<\/p>\n

Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced in January <\/a>that Transport Canada and the provinces would work toward creating a national MELT standard by 2020 \u2013 a central plank in CTA\u2019s proposed action plan released in the aftermath of the Humboldt truck-bus tragedy. This week the government appeared to recognize yet another key CTA recommendation by releasing a request for proposal (RFP) that would see the development of a commercial driver distracted driving training module that could be used by all provinces for inclusion in their local MELT standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cDistracted driving is a growing problem on our roadways and risks the safety of every type of driver,\u201d said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. \u201cCTA is applauding Minister Garneau and Transport Canada for taking action on this important issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of fleets in Canada have distracted driver training and monitoring policies in place to mitigate the negative effects of distracted driving. However, this development will provide the provinces with a potential distracted driver MELT module that would ensure all new entrants coming into our sector understand the safety consequences of distracted driving behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to information published by the Government of Canada, the goal of this project is to develop commercial vehicle driver training material aimed at addressing driver distraction as well as fleet management guidelines to help motor carriers mitigate distracted driving. The material is expected to take form as \u201cmodules accompanied by written documentation to support training.\u201d The RFP also includes guidance that the contractor selected to work with Transport Canada on this project needs to be familiar with the MELT process and be prepared to develop a distracted driver training module that is compatible.<\/p>\n

The selected contractor will be given two years to develop the module from start to finish. The stages of this development will include:<\/p>\n