TORONTO — The head of Ontario’s provincial police says the trucking industry should take a close look at the way it conducts business following a fatal multi-vehicle collision that police believe was caused by a transport truck driver.
Commissioner Vince Hawkes made the comments near the scene of a 14-vehicle pileup on Highway 400, north of Toronto, that left at least three people dead.
The latest crash came just days after Hawkes put truck drivers “on notice” for being inattentive while behind the wheel.
He says truck drivers are unable to brake for slow or stopped traffic if they are texting or eating or watching TV while behind the wheel.
Provincial police say a quarter of all fatal collisions they investigate involve a commercial vehicle.
But the Ontario Trucking Association says mechanical and technological improvements such as speed limit and stability controls have made trucks safer.
The Canadian Press
