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Large Truck Safety in Ontario: What are the core concerns and how do we fix them?

Author(s): Megan Svidski, Erin Dessau

Slidedeck Presentation Only (no paper submitted):

7B_4_Svidski, Dessau

Abstract:

Collisions involving commercial motor vehicles (CMV) are more likely to be fatal compared to other types of collisions due to the size and weight of the vehicles involved. In attempting to understand the causes of large truck collisions in Ontario, the unique driving and regulatory circumstances specific to this province must be considered. The Commercial Vehicle Operator Registration (CVOR) system is a key part of Ontario's regulatory environment, and includes interventions such as roadside inspections and facility audits. As Ontario prepares to accommodate demographic and economic changes to the trucking industry, an in-depth understanding of the root causes of collisions will allow for the development of innovative policies and programs that maximize road safety in the most efficient manner possible. This project seeks to move beyond proximal causes in order to determine root causes of large truck collisions in Ontario that could potentially be mitigated through program/policy enhancements. Mitigation strategies based on maximization of the effectiveness of Ontario's Commercial Vehicle Programs (inspections, audits, interventions and sanctions) will also be investigated. The project will involve a review of evidence pertaining to CMV causal factors and CMV safety regulatory systems. Informant interviews via focus groups of large truck drivers, collision re-constructionists and Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) enforcement officers, and via jurisdictional survey will also be conducted to generate hypotheses relating to large truck collision causation. Finally, statistical analyses will be performed to test these hypotheses using MTO's collision data, commercial vehicle inspection/ carrier audit data, and detailed driver record data. The same data will be used in this mixed methods study to estimate the effectiveness of the various components of Ontario's Commercial Vehicle Programs in maintaining road safety in Ontario. Every year, Ontario reports on collision contributing factors such as driver actions and mechanical defects. The results of this study will point to the specific, fundamental causal factors that are taking place long before the actual collision event occurs. These are factors such as economics, culture, lifestyle, infrastructure, rules of the road and regulatory events or characteristics. Results may also suggest specific modifications to the CVOR system so that resource allocation and road safety are simultaneously optimized. Results from analyses of potential collision causation factors will support new safety initiatives and guide deployment of resources to reduce truck involved collisions in Ontario. A full understanding of the causes of Large Truck collisions in Ontario, as well as ways to optimize interventions and sanctions, will enable the continued refinement of a provincial strategy to reduce truck involved collisions and guide deployment of resources.