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John G Smith
John G. Smith is the editorial director of Newcom Media's trucking and supply chain publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, TruckTech, Transport Routier, and Road Today. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.
Lessons to Learn: Western provinces review driver training standards
TORONTO, Ont. -- Sukmander Singh, the owner of Adesh Deol Trucking, revealed little about his driver involved in the Tisdale, Sask. truck-and-bus collision that killed 16. The man he knew through common friends had been licensed for a year. The month working for Singh’s two-truck operation reportedly included about 15 days of additional training. The cause of the April 6 crash that killed so many members of the Humboldt Broncos has yet to be determined. No charges have been laid, although Adesh Deol’s second truck was taken off the road pending an investigation. But the collision – and the driver’s relatively limited experience – has spurred discussions about driver training standards in Canada’s prairie provinces and beyond.
Military Might: Highway Star sees the promise in second careers
TORONTO, Ont. -- Doug McGowan submitted no fewer than 101 resumes, but not one fleet had called him back. It just didn’t make any sense. During his time in the military he drove everything from armored vehicles to military pattern trucks, and learned how to work tire chains in punishing environments north of the Arctic Circle. Shouldn’t that count for something? The sign promising jobs for “propane seasonal drivers, Class 5 with air” screamed out like an insult. He submitted his resume and clean abstract to that very business two weeks earlier, and hadn’t heard a thing. But McGowan went back again. And again. And again. Four times in all. The job that emerged became his first stop in a second career.
Largest Truck World draws massive crowds
TORONTO, Ont. – Almost 19,600 people attended the largest Truck World trade show in history at Toronto's International Centre from April 19-21. The 14,807 visitors interacted with 4,788 exhibitor representatives. And there was plenty to see in the sold-out venue that included 525 exhibits -- requiring the addition of a fifth hall, and featuring 179,000 sq.-ft. of booth space across nearly 400,000 sq.ft. overall. The event is jointly produced by Newcom Media (the publishers of Today’s Trucking) and Hannover Fairs, a division of DeutscheMesse. The 14,807 visitors interacted with 4,788 exhibitor representatives. And there was plenty to see in the sold-out venue that included 525 exhibits -- requiring the addition of a fifth hall, and featuring 179,000 sq.-ft. of booth space across nearly 400,000 sq.ft. overall. The event is jointly produced by Newcom Media (the publishers of Today’s Trucking) and Hannover Fairs, a division of DeutscheMesse.
Readers share thoughts on mental health
TORONTO, Ont. -- Sunny skies have returned, but there are those who struggle in the darkness. With that in mind, our latest Pulse reader survey asked about the state of your mental health. About 42% of those who responded said their jobs cause them some form of mental distress, and 84% believe the trucking industry has a role to play in addressing mental health in the workplace.
