transport

Ontario’s Auditor General is calling for increased inspection of commercial vehicle driver training programs.

Shelley Spence says she found a lack of oversight of the private career colleges that offer the training and inconsistent training practices.

Spence says inspections of those colleges have not been keeping pace.

“MCURES (Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security) had never inspected 54 of the 216 registered private career colleges actively offering entry-level training,” says SPence.

“Out of the 81 that had reached the fifth year, 44 or 54% had not been reinspected.”

Spence also found that some drivers received certificates for completing a training program that was shorter than the 103.5 hours required in an entry-level training program.

“Based on our students’ experiences at training providers, we found examples where schools delivered only 59.5 and 81 hours,” says Spence.

“We also found cases where students were not taught key elements such as left turns at major intersections, reverse parking and emergency stopping.”

Some unregistered centres that were inspected and fined for violations continued to operate after being cited.

Spence also found road tests vary between communities and drive test centres.

Some relied on lower-speed expressways for highway manoeuvres, and others did not test drivers on backing up, a requirement to obtain a license.

Spence notes that while transports account for just 3% of all vehicles on the road, they have been involved in 12% of all accidents between 2019 and 2023.

She makes 13 recommendations that the government is accepting.

The Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities state they are exploring ways to expand their oversight of driver training programs.