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New Project – TIRF contracted to complete CTHRC program of research on the link between commercial truck driver licensing standards, training programs and safety performance

April 7, 2010 - The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) is pleased to announce it has been contracted by The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) to complete phase two of an ongoing program of research aimed at strengthening the training and licensing process for new drivers of heavy trucks.

The first phase of the research was completed by TIRF in May 2009. This phase involved a survey of the four Western provinces to identify agencies responsible for commercial driver training and licensing, to explore the availability of collision and violation data, and to develop an appropriate, feasible methodology for a research study that would examine the relationship between driver training and licensing processes and the extent of violations and collisions involving commercial vehicles.

In response to an open competition, TIRF was awarded the contract for the second phase of the program to conduct the research study. As part of this work, TIRF will identify the relationship among commercial truck driver standards, training programs and the safety performance of new drivers in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. The study will consist of a retrospective, cross-sectional study and a prospective, longitudinal study. Multivariate analyses will be performed on the data to determine if drivers who are collision/violation free are more likely to have taken the recommended driver training programs and are more likely to have performed better on the licensing tests.

The information collected during the second phase will be used to develop a business case that CTHRC will use in order to inform the improvement of the training and licensing processes for entry-level drivers of heavy trucks.

It is expected that this project will be completed by the summer of 2011.

About TIRF

Established in 1964, TIRF's mission is to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries. As a national, independent, charitable road safety institute, TIRF designs, promotes, and implements effective programs and policies, based on sound research. TIRF is a registered charity and depends on grants, contracts, and donations to provide services for the public. For more information, visit http://www.tirf.ca/.