Trucking Dangerous Goods: Who’s Liable in Case of Accidents?

Trucking Dangerous Goods: Who’s Liable in Case of Accidents?
Posted: Nov 28, 2013 12:36 PM | Last Updated: Nov 28, 2013 12:39 PM

TORONTO— The Canadian Trucking Alliance is asking the federal government to invalidate contract clauses compensating shippers from liability in case of incidents involving dangerous goods such as crude oil.

CTA’s president and CEO, David Bradley, commented: “We strongly believe the most effective thing governments can do is to take the recommended actions to reduce the risk of highway accidents and to make sure that the parties whose negligence causes an accident are held liable for the claims.”

The growing trend of shippers including clauses in freight contracts that compensate them from liability from their own negligence goes against both public interest and policy, the CTA says.

The discussion comes in light of last summer’s Lac Megantic accident when several rail tank cars carrying crude oil derailed.

After that incident, the federal government wrote some big clean up cheques and called for increased insurance coverage for rail carriers and shippers.

But an incident of the magnitude of Lac Megantic is unlikely to occur with trucks, the CTA says.

In a report stating its position on the transportation of dangerous goods by truck, the CTA found that the frequency and severity of highway incidents involving trucks carrying dangerous goods is extremely low.

The report analyzed 328 dangerous goods incidents involving trucks in 2012 and found that the number of incidents was 1.64 every 10,000 shipments, with a majority (56.4 percent) of the releases of product under 500 litres, or in other words, minor. These incidents are usually cleaned up with little or no environmental damage.

Highway accidents, where the public is most at risk, accounted for 16.2 percent of all incidents, which means they happened as often as 0.27 times every 10,000 shipments.

Despite their rarity, the major accidents, which account for 6.4 percent of all incidents, are the main cause (56.8 percent) of releases of product larger than 5,000 litres.

“I think we can conclude from this white paper that overall the TDG regulations are effective in preventing dangerous goods incidents where trucks are involved,” Bradley said.

Even so, the CTA advisory committee on dangerous goods has been struck to look at the regulations in more detail. 

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CDL Driver Trainers Should be Held Liable for Actions

Abusive Truck Driver Trainers

The trucking industry continues to turn a blind eye on the abusive behavior of those truck driver trainers against trainees.  Trying their best to keep it secretive and to prevent these stories of abuse from making news, it is left to the trucking social media to continue emphasizing that these crimes against CDL truck driver trainees continue to occur.  Unfortunately, there are many more such incidents that take place that are never reported.  The most recent being the case involving the C. R. England driver trainer who threw out his female trainee, leaving her abandoned in New York.

These so-called “trainers” have received no formal education in actual “training.”  Although many are veteran drivers, they have only been given the title of trainer by their company.  Furthermore, once again, we witness the foul practice of placing women in a truck with a male trainer, both being complete strangers to one another with total  disregard to any background check.  This problem is bigger than anyone in a high position of the industry is willing to admit.  Most trainees will never utter a single word about their abuse, simply finding a way home and never look at trucking as a career again.

In the case of this criminal trainer for C. R. England, the spotlight is once again on these type of companies who continue to allow such behavior to take place.   For this driver to throw out a trainee from the truck would be assault.  To drive away with her belongings still in the truck would be theft.  The employer is responsible, in part, for the safety of their employees.  Placing her in a truck for 24/7 with a complete stranger and one who is obviously a nut-case, should justify endangerment.

Furthermore, this latest victim states that she called her dispatcher and informed her of the situation and danger and asked for help, yet the dispatcher allegedly told her that she needed to “suck it up.”  At this point, a company representative was made aware of the problem, therefore, the dispatcher should also be held accountable for endangerment.  Whatever the accountability is, an attorney would have to decide but it is ignorant dispatchers such as this who add to the problem of trainee abuse.

These worthless truck driver trainers need to be held liable for their criminal behavior and should face jail time. Should these allegations be proven to be true, then  C. R. England should be held accountable as well.  C. R. England advertises that you can become a trainer with as little as six months driving experience, yet the FMCSA and the industry itself sees no reason for safety concern.

When the abuse of driver trainees, especially female trainees was finally brought to the attention of the media by Trucker Desiree, it was met with sarcasm and verbal attacks.  This latest act of abuse to female truck driver trainees by a male trainer is one more example of the reality for many women wanting to become truck drivers.  This story almost became another obsolete one because she was not going to report or say anything about it because like many before her, her first thoughts were, “Nobody will believe me.”

Trucker Desiree interviewed this latest victim of CDL truck driver trainer abuse.  We will continue to hold these companies and trainers liable for their actions, since the trucking industry itself refuses to do so.  Their only concern is to smear and discredit the victim.

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