A statement from the office of traffic safety for Alberta’s Ministry of Transportation has revealed that despite commercial vehicle registration peaking just recently and an increase in traffic volumes, there has been a decrease in vehicle-related fatalities in the province.
Wendy Doyle, Ministry of Transportation office of traffic safety executive director, shared the statement with attendees of the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) Safety Conference in Red Deer.
Doyle said that commercial vehicle registration in the province peaked in 2015 with more than 600,000 registrations. The number of those seeking Class 1 driver’s licenses (for operating semi-trailer trucks) has also steadily increased since 2013, she noted.
“We have a driving public, people like their vehicles in Alberta,” she said.
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She added that there has been a surge in passenger vehicles and commercial drivers, contributing to increased traffic volumes. Despite all this, there has been a drop in auto accident fatalities in Alberta, she pointed out.
Of the 334 total fatalities in 2015, 80 involved commercial vehicles (which include long-haul transport trucks, motor homes, and farm equipment). Two per cent (2%) of that number involved tractor trucks. There are approximately 300,000 collisions on provincial highways each year in total, Doyle reported, not counting those that occur in municipalities (where statistics are maintained separately).
Doyle shared other information during the event, Truck News reported. Citing data, she said that the most likely time for a commercial vehicle to be involved in a collision is in November, between 11am and 3pm. The top three reasons for commercial vehicle collisions were running off the road (30%), tailgating (26%), and other various individual circumstances (24%).
The most common commercial driver condition during collisions that may have influenced the accident is fatigue/sleepiness. Other factors include alcohol consumption, impairment, and impairment from drug use. Doyle noted that alcohol impairment is by far the most likely driver condition for all motorists enduring collisions on provincial highways.
Traffic fatality and injury numbers are going down in the province thanks to collision mitigation technology, safer vehicles, and enforcement tactics such as photo radar and red light cameras, she said.
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