Trucking group to seek exemption from new BC Ferries restrictions
Posted December 20, 2016 12:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – BC Ferries is planning some major policy changes for the New Year, and not all of them are sitting well with local truck drivers.
The crown corporation says passenger access to the closed vehicle decks will be restricted while the ships are moving, in keeping with Transport Canada safety regulations.
You will still be allowed to nap in their car if it’s in one of the upper-level open decks, but not in the lower decks where the big rigs are. “It’s hard for truckers if this thing is banned,” argues Gagan Singh with the United Truckers Association, adding drivers often find relief napping in their cabs while on the water.
His organization will be sending out letters to government ministries and BC Ferries next month, asking for drivers to be exempt from the new rule, although Louise Yako with the BC Truckers Association won’t be doing the same. “Given the fact that these rules are being enforced to improve safety and to address safety concerns, it would be difficult to argue against them,” she says.
BC Ferries is also considering a phased-in a smoking ban on its vessels and the company’s Deborah Marshall says new provincial smoking regulations require smoke-free zones three to six metres away from a door or open window, which can prove challenging on a ship.
Details on these new policies will be announced in the New Year.
