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Health/Safety
Smoke Screen: Testing remains in a legal vacuum
July 1 has secured an unusual place in the story of marijuana. The national holiday was once reported as the deadline to legalize recreational weed. That didn’t happen, of course, but Canada Day is still left as the deadline for Ontario’s Cannabis Act, which established related rules for drivers and sellers alike. Canada’s cross-border drivers even began facing their mandated drug tests on July 1, 1996.
Test and Measure: Not all testing methods equal
TORONTO, Ont. -- Whether testing for the presence of alcohol or drugs in a workplace, or at the side of a road, each tool comes with its own pros and cons. Now that Canada is preparing to legalize recreational marijuana, police forces across the country are being trained in oral fluids testing, also known as saliva testing, and the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST). And these are both options for a fleet looking to determine a driver’s fitness for duty. Both methods offer immediate results – unlike tests involving hair, urine, or blood. That’s good enough to determine fitness for duty and keep a potentially impaired driver off the highway. But courts typically rely on another layer of tests, which means the initial positive results might not be enough to terminate someone.
Walk the Line: Testing options go beyond oral fluids
Canada’s Senate has passed the bills needed to legalize cannabis and enforce related rules, but with four dozen proposed amendments it will be weeks or months before roadside enforcement teams know exactly what kinds of devices they can use for roadside tests.
Carry That Weight: 5 secrets to spec’ing better liftgates
TORONTO, Ont. -- Much rides on your liftgate spec'ing decision: your cargo, your customers' satisfaction, and literally, your drivers. Short-spec’ your liftgate and you put all that and more at risk. You can buy a liftgate for any vehicle from a pickup truck to a tractor-trailer, and units that can handle weights ranging from 600 to 3,000 kg. They come in various configurations. Some with fold-away platforms and some with sliding platforms...
Annual Roadcheck is aiming for education, not ‘gotcha’: MTO
OAKVILLE, Ont. – The hiss of air from the supply line is unmistakable. Satinder Gill’s trailer has just come flying off the back of his tractor – or so he’s made it seem. By disconnecting the supply lines, the driver for JLine Trucking is simulating a lost trailer as part of a roadside inspection being conducted by MTO Enforcement Supervisor Adriano Sanna.
Video: CVSA Inspections Episode 18: In-Cab Inspection
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck is almost over! Even though today is the last day for the annual blitz, we’re sharing these videos to help you prepare for inspections down the road. This 2017 video series with Today’s Trucking editor John G. Smith and Samantha Sarasin, Ontario Ministry of Transportation enforcement officer and provincial Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) instructor who explain every step in a CVSA inspection. In this episode we look at the In-Cab Inspection.
Danger Zones
It can happen without warning – a previously unseen hazard makes itself known with tragic results. For one Woodstock, Ont. Driver, that happened when a routine unloading turned deadly April 30. The 47-year-old was moving granite countertops out of his truck at a Kitchener supply store when disaster struck and he was crushed. Details of how the incident came to pass are being closely guarded by authorities until an Ontario Ministry of Labour investigation can be completed, but the incident is hardly an isolated one. For all the advertising governments do to promote safe practices in the workplace, statistics on workplace safety can be difficult to interpret. No national statistics exist, and those kept and curated by provincial organizations vary.
Video: CVSA Inspections Episode 13: Steering Components
We’re less than a month away from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck sceduled for June 5-7 2018. With that in mind we take a look back at this 2017 video series with Today’s Trucking editor John G. Smith and Samantha Sarasin, Ontario Ministry of Transportation enforcement officer and provincial Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) instructor who explain every step in a CVSA inspection. In this episode we look at steering components.
Video: CVSA Inspections Episode 14: Brake Components
We’re less than a month away from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck sceduled for June 5-7 2018. With that in mind we take a look back at this 2017 video series with Today’s Trucking editor John G. Smith and Samantha Sarasin, Ontario Ministry of Transportation enforcement officer and provincial Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) instructor who explain every step in a CVSA inspection. In this episode we look at brake components.
