Alberta driver certification pilot delayed

RED DEER, Alta. (July 14, 2005) — A pilot program that would train and certify Alberta truck drivers as professionals has been delayed until late fall.

An Alberta Transportation official was quoted by The Red Deer Advocate as saying that the 37-week project — based on the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council’s Earning Your Wheels program — won’t begin until after September.

The pilot will be monitored by Red Deer College and, if successful, taught by driving schools that meet the criteria set out by the council and the province. Up to 100 truck driving students would take part in the pilot program, but it’s expected that within five years that could be ramped up to about 600 annually.

Ministry spokesperson Bart Johnson said the program won’t be ready for implementation in September, but because it’s an apprenticeship type program, it’s not tied to a school year. He added Red Deer College officials handling the program are away on conferences or vacation.

He also said course development, course costs, and determining who will administer the on-road training still need to be worked out.

The pilot is in part a response to a high-profile licence mill scandal that rocked the province in February. The government and the trucking industry came up with the pilot as a way to firm up the driver training industry in Alberta after police shut down the Delta Driving School on suspicion that untrained truck drivers were being put behind the wheel for fees of up to $2,500.

— with files from the Red Deer Advocate