Head of Sask. Trucking Association explains possible causes of three overpass crashes

After three overpass crashes in less than two weeks, the head of the Saskatchewan Trucking Association is speaking out about issues in the industry and what needs to change.

Susan Ewart, the association’s executive director, joined The Evan Bray Show on Wednesday to explain why she thinks three semis hauling oversized loads could have collided with three different overpasses in such a short span of time.

Read more:

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• Some semi drivers ignorant about height of their loads, truck wash owner says
• Charges laid against semi truck operator in March 5 Saskatoon overpass collision

The first two collisions happened in Saskatoon on March 5 and March 11. The most recent overpass collision happened just outside of Moose Jaw on Sunday.

According to Ewart, all trucks higher than 4.15 metres need to get a permit.

“SGI looks after that, and they can then discuss the appropriate routes that they need to go through,” Ewart said.

If a carrier has a large load that needs to be moved, she said “the highways and SGI are going to work together to create a route for that carrier to be able to successfully move that piece of equipment.”

But even with the help of other organizations, she said the trucking companies – and, to some extent, their drivers – are ultimately responsible for planning their routes.

Devising a route that won’t impact any infrastructure is possible. According to Ewart, Saskatchewan has over-dimensional routes available, as demonstrated by the log house that was successfully relocated across the province earlier this month.

While that sort of move can take months to plan, she said it shows the ability to transport larger items safely.

“There was advance notice to our industry about what was happening in that particular move, and you can see they had pilot vehicles. They were going very slow. It took a lot of days,” Ewart said.

Potential factors at play

But while Ewart maintained that the carriers involved the overpass crashes should be held accountable for the damages, she also explained why the hits might have happened.

One reason could be training, she said, or the lack thereof.

“The carrier is ultimately responsible to make sure that there’s proper cargo securement training happening, that their employees and their drivers understand the National Safety Code, which then talks about the regulations for like how you securely strap the cargo down,” Ewart explained.

While it’s a lot of information, she said employees and their drivers are required to understand the rules.

Ewart said it’s unlikely that the three drivers involved in the recent overpass collisions were new to the industry and simply didn’t know the rules.

“Typically, you’re going to see a driver that’s moving large equipment like that not be a new person to the industry,” she said.

“Most companies recognize that we can’t put a new driver in behind the wheel of moving a large piece of over-dimensional equipment.”

Another factor could be recent weather, Ewart added.

“It’s been kind of an odd winter, warming and cooling, and the ice I noticed, even just on the Ring Road in Regina, gets built up under the bridges, right? And that can slightly change, possibly, the elevation,” Ewart said.

She added that pavement heaving and altering the height of a road as a result is something that “definitely can happen.”

What can be done?

Asked whether there’s a growing need for overpass upgrades in Saskatchewan, Ewart said there is.

“Equipment isn’t getting smaller. It’s getting bigger today,” she said.

“As the infrastructure ages, we’re definitely going to have to keep that in mind when we’re rebuilding and building new requirements.”

Ewart acknowledged that large-scale improvements take time, but shared some smaller-scale changes that could also be considered.

“Maybe signage can be improved on some of the intersections or the bridge spaces that are having some challenges. Maybe it needs to be farther out a little bit… Maybe it needs to be larger,” she said.

But while the three overpass crashes have generated a lot of conversation over the past two weeks, Ewart held that for the most part, trucking companies “are safe and compliant.”