Passing the road test for a Class A licence in Ontario used to be as simple as memorizing the route taken by the examiner and answering a set of standard questions.
The process had become so easy that a number of cut-rate driver training centres started up, promising would-be drivers they could pass the licencing test after just 10 hours of training and for as little $999. After media reports revealed newly licenced drivers were hitting the highway with as little eight hours of training, Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation undertook an extensive review of how drivers seeking an A license are trained and tested in the province.
On July 1, 2017, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) introduced mandatory entry-level training (MELT) requirements for new commercial Class A applicants. It revamped testing, and introduced a mandatory standard training curriculum that requires a minimum of 103.5 hours of study with either a Private Career College registered with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, or recognized authorities like carriers with training programs under the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Driver Certification Program, which includes an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology.
Since the introduction of MELT, changes have rippled through the industry, affecting would-be drivers, carriers, training schools, testing centres and insurers. Although still in its infancy and experiencing growing pains, MELT has been widely accepted throughout the industry.
“Any program takes time to adjust, to stabilize,” says Paul Harbottle, director of MTO’s program development and evaluation branch. “This is the first in North America. We are leading edge on this. We are seeing and hearing from the industry that it is working. We know people are getting trained and they are following a common standard, and a curriculum built to that standard. We know training is happening at private career colleges where it should be happening.”
MELT is the answer to the problems created by the cut-rate schools, also dubbed as “licencing mills” or “puppy mills,” which exploited several loopholes, and the industry’s shortage of drivers, to attract customers. In a day or so of training, without any formal classroom instruction, would-be drivers were taught just enough to know how to pass the test. Although most reputable carriers refused to hire the newly licensed grads from the quickie training courses, many managed to find jobs. Reports of carriers setting untrained drivers loose on the road tarnished the trucking industry’s image.
“At the end of the day you’ve got good schools and good carriers and you have bad schools and you have bad carriers,” says Kim Richardson, chairman of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO), which has 25 schools across the province and also represents more than 50 associate members including industry suppliers, insurers, carriers and more. “The bad schools and bad carriers are going to hook up and do business and the good schools and the good carriers are going to hook up and do business.”
MELT has forced most of the cut-rate schools out of A licence training by only allowing students from registered schools to take the road test. No more 10-hour courses; no more on-the-job training; no more taking lessons from a buddy. Carriers who do their own training also have to be registered and prove they are following the MELT standard.
The test has also been revamped. The number of written questions has increased from 20 to 30, and they are more complex. Licencees are also required to inspect random pre-trip items to avoid the previous practice of memorizing questions that were common to all tests.
Although the new testing procedures closed a major loophole, they also caught credible schools off-guard. Failure rates after the introduction of MELT jumped, forcing schools to re-examine some of their lessons. Richardson says the test also revealed that some of the testing facilities operated by Serco, the company contracted by the MTO to administer driver tests, were inadequate.
“Backing was the biggest issue where failures were the highest,” says Richardson who is also president of KRTS Transportation Specialists in Caledonia. “In some cases it has to do with testing areas being too tight to perform the task. Our association heard from instructors who said they would have a hard time performing the tasks. It’s not about the skill levels; it’s about where the testing is being done. Some of the road-test centres are in strip malls. The MTO understands these issues and is reacting to them.”
Passing MELT training standards doesn’t guarantee jobs for newly licenced students even with a dire shortage of drivers throughout the industry. For many carriers, the licence is just a minimum requirement in the hiring process. Prospective applicants must still undergo rigorous interviews and pass company tests.
“If we even want to look at them, we do a road test with them,” says Brian Topping, director of safety for the Rosedale Group, which hires many of its new drivers from Humber College’s Transportation Training Centre in Toronto. “If they complete the road test and show some potential, they go through orientation. For the first two days they do nothing but backing using various scenarios. By the time that is done, we know if we are going to continue on. Then they go through a six-week mentoring program working with six different coaches. They have to do a final road test and demonstrate they know what they are doing. Then off they go on their own.”
Topping says he had hoped drivers trained under the MELT umbrella would come with more advanced skills so Rosedale could reduce some of its internal training costs. “It would be nice to have someone come in and jump in the truck who knows what they are doing but I haven’t seen that. I don’t believe the onus on the carrier to polish up what they get is ever going to go away. MELT is beneficial but it’s not a game changer.”
The MELT standard was developed by the MTO with extensive input from PMTC, the Ontario Trucking Association, individual truck driving schools and the TTSAO. The 36-lesson curriculum includes a 406-page driver textbook and an 820-page instructor manual to be delivered in103.5 hours. Schools and instructors had to adapt to the new program, although many already taught 200-plus hour courses. Some schools now offer both a basic and an advanced course. At KRTS, students can choose a 103.5-hour program or a 200-hour program that follows the Professional Truck Driver Institute curriculum. “The 200-hour program opens almost every door to an individual looking for employment,” says Matt Richardson, KRTS sales and operations manager.
The goal of raising overall safety standards of drivers by ensuring better-qualified drivers are now taking their tests and it appears to be working. Industry observers say some carriers and insurers have noted some new drivers trained under MELT are a cut above some of their existing drivers.
However, there are also concerns that MELT might discourage prospective drivers from entering the industry because they have to go to school longer and pay higher fees. “It will have a short-term impact on driver shortage,” says Harbottle. “The industry was aware of that. What they are hoping is that the more you treat driving like a profession, you will attract more drivers through higher salaries, better benefits and all the things that go with a profession.”
Although safety is at the heart of the new program, the latest available statistics show that in fatal collisions involving heavy trucks, the driver is at fault in less than 30% of incidents. In 2016 there were 483 fatalities as a result of collisions in Ontario, 96 (20%) involving large trucks. Harbottle says although statistics show that the industry already had a high percentage of well-trained commercial drivers and reputable schools with exceptional standards, the MTO will use MELT statistics to provide a deeper analysis of collision data.
“Now we can track who has driver training. Before we didn’t know if you took driver training,” says Harbottle. “We just knew you passed the test. Now we can look at the causes of collisions and who is at fault. Now we can take that data and start to link it to schools. We can quote different metrics and do evaluations on various parts of the tests, to the drivers, to the schools, to the outcomes.”
MELT remains a work in progress with stakeholders meeting regularly to review the program. TTSAO plans to start working with the MTO to tighten requirements that allow prospective drivers with related experience to get advanced standing, which allows them to skip a large portion of the course. They are also discussing the need for instructor certification.
“Right now, it’s the early days,” says Harbottle. “Our research says you need 2-3 years of good collection data to make statistically viable observations. I can’t stress enough the value that the partners have brought to the table. We need to hear from the experts. Thanks to our industry partners and stakeholders, everybody came together to make this work and are continuing to work together to make this happen.”
