Quebec- Following a series of severe collisions involving heavy commercial trucks, the government of Quebec has announced tough new measures aimed at addressing road safety and targeting inexperienced commercial drivers. The urgent regulatory shift comes after a tragic incident last month where a 13-year-old cyclist was struck and killed by a truck in Saint-Hyacinthe, followed by another cyclist being hit in Drummondville just this week.
Under the new directives announced Thursday, truck drivers from Ontario with less than two years of experience who want to work in Quebec and exchange their Class 1 heavy vehicle driver’s license will now be required to pass practical exams.
The retesting requirement applies to all applicants with less than 24 months of Class 1 commercial driving experience. Furthermore, if these drivers fail the practical assessments twice, they will be legally mandated to complete a comprehensive training program before they can operate heavy vehicles in the province.
Stricter Oversight and Foreign Worker Safety The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), the province’s automobile insurance board, noted in a news release that this measure was directly influenced by an audit report published by Ontario’s auditor general on May 12. The audit focused on commercial driver’s licenses and strongly highlighted the immediate need to beef up oversight on training and licensing pipelines.
In addition to the new testing rules for inter-provincial drivers, the SAAQ announced it has established a dedicated working group tasked with strengthening road safety requirements specifically for temporary foreign workers operating commercial vehicles.
According to the SAAQ, the ultimate goal of the working group is to propose robust regulatory changes to mitigate road risks, update licensing standards, and ensure that newly arrived workers adopt defensive and safe driving practices on Quebec roads.
