Truck licensing and registration remain an ag industry uphill battle

With a shortage of 6,000 truck drivers affecting all types of industries, the OFA continues to advocate on behalf of farmers with government for a change in licensing and registration, as well as the trucking insurance costs required to move agricultural products to market and bring production inputs to the farm.

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It is impacting younger and older farmers, says OFA director Larry Davis, and it’s been an ongoing issue.

“I haven’t seen anything improve,” he continued during an interview. “Farm kids get their license and then want to drive transports but with no experience they can’t get a job, and without a job they can’t get experience.”

At the other end, senior-aged farmers who have experience have to keep going to their doctors to get transportation ministry medical forms so they can keep driving, he said. And with the average age of farmers getting higher, this is an issue too, the Zone 3 director for Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk said.

The problems are not new. Several years ago, a resolution was passed at an OFA annual meeting addressing the matter including possibly modifying the existing Commercial Vehicle Operator Registration (CVOR) rules for larger trucks, says OFA senior analyst Ian Nokes.

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“We’ve talked to the MTO about different restrictions.”

A farmer can drive an 8-ton truck with a farm plate that has restrictions so perhaps different, additional restrictions could be added for transports traveling in rural areas in order to get a modified CVOR, he suggested. This could be limited to when a farmer is driving his own produce 50 or 100 miles, or working for a business like a co-op, delivering farm supplies and not traveling on 400-series highways, as well as limiting the size of the vehicle .

This might also give the insurance industry some comfort and the ability to reduce insurance premiums which make it difficult for agri-businesses to hire younger, less experienced drivers even if they have all the training and licensing.

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A modified CVOR could also involve a lesser amount of training materials to cover because the drivers are not crossing provincial or international borders when they are serving rural markets in Ontario, Nokes said.

At present, for a commercial driver with a truck weighing over 5,400 kilograms, a CVOR is required. The training is extensive, both written and behind the wheel, and it’s difficult for anyone to get a job when they are first starting out after getting the CVOR. There was a financial push by the government to put under-represented segments of the population into this transportation vacuum but the money earmarked by the government only helped 54 people get licensed when 6,000 are needed, he said.

“It’s a drop in the bucket.”

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Another issue is that insurance companies hesitate to ensure new drivers until they have three years experience.

“It’s a Catch-22 situation.”

Discussions have been underway with the Insurance Bureau of Canada to see if there can be a new structure or an agriculture rider on the policy for new drivers, he said.

Recently, the OFA wrote to Ontario’s transportation and other associated ministries and received a response that indicated that while the transportation ministry is looking at digitizing its data keeping, it will also look at CVORs.

“They haven’t had that review yet…We’re still advocating with the Ministry,” he said.

It is possible to have good safety standards and truck drivers working in agribusiness, Nokes said. “It’s still something approachable and doable.”

He said the OFA is continuing to negotiate for new regulations for agriculture and new drivers, as well as lowering insurance premiums with restricted agriculture-related riders on those policies.

At this time all trucks, including farm trucks, with an actual or registered grow weight over 4,500 kg (9,920 pounds) must have a CVOR, states an OFA website.

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