Photo by Bailey Alexander on Unsplash 

A big part of what keeps our roads safe hinges on systems most of us rarely think about, until something goes wrong. Licensing standards, training requirements, and oversight are all designed to ensure that only qualified drivers operate heavy vehicles. When those systems break down, the risks increase, especially on roads shared with large commercial trucks.  

The Office of the Auditor General of Ontario recently published a report that found that some commercial trucking schools were issuing licenses without properly training drivers. Commercial trucks are involved in a disproportionate amount of collisions on Ontario roads, and collisions with trucks often result in death. 

“Even though large commercial trucks account for only about 3% of all vehicles on Ontario's roads, they account for 12% of all vehicles involved in fatal collisions between 2019 and 2023, according to the latest Ministry of Transportation (MTO) data.”

-Office of the Auditor General of Ontario 

The auditor found that neither the Ministry of Colleges nor the Ministry of Transportation were monitoring the trucking schools thoroughly enough to prevent the falsification of training records and the issuing of trucking licenses to unqualified drivers. 

“For years, the Ontario Trucking Association has been warning about the lawlessness growing throughout our sector. Learning that some training providers are delivering barely 60 per cent of mandatory instruction and failing to teach basic skills is an insult to the public and thousands of professional truck drivers who take pride in doing the job safely and with integrity every day.”

-Stephen Laskowski, CEO of The Ontario Trucking Association. 

Driving Wisely 

While the Auditor General’s findings raise serious concerns about driver training, the reality is that every motorist has a role to play in staying safe. You can’t control who is behind the wheel of a truck, but you can take steps to protect yourself by understanding how these vehicles operate.  

The large space truck drivers maintain in front of them in traffic is not free space – it’s the amount of space they require in order to stop safely. When a driver enters that space, they put themselves at serious risk of a collision and increase their chances of being killed. It’s vital to remember never to cut closely in front of a truck and, if one is following you, to brake as smoothly as possible. 

If you can’t see a truck’s mirrors, the driver likely can’t see you. The size and shape of commercial vehicles create large blind spots, especially behind and along the sides. When following a truck with a trailer, stay far enough back that you can see its side mirrors. This helps ensure the driver is aware of your presence around them. For the same reason, don’t linger beside a truck, as you may be in a blind spot. If the driver changes lanes without seeing you, it can quickly lead to a dangerous situation. 

Never pass a truck on the right, and always give them plenty of room to merge, change lanes, and turn. Commercial trucks have far more limitations than smaller vehicles, and truck drivers must constantly contend with these constraints the road. You can stay safe around trucks by being patient and courteous and giving them plenty of room. 

Seeing Trucks Differently  

Commercial trucks pose significant risks due to their size and weight, which create large blind spots in front, beside, and behind them, and make even simple maneuvers like stopping and turning difficult and dangerous. 

Despite the risks, many drivers don’t fully understand how differently large commercial trucks handle compared to smaller vehicles. Some driving organizations have developed creative tools, like interactive games, to help illustrate how much space trucks need to stop, turn, and change lanes. These maneuvers are vital for safe driving and are not only challenging for truck drivers to perform safely, but can be deadly to uninformed passenger vehicle drivers nearby that may behave recklessly around large trucks during a maneuver, leading to deadly collisions. 

At alertdriving, these important issues are addressed with specific lessons about driving around large trucks. These lessons are designed to help drivers of smaller vehicles better understand the dangers they face when encountering a large truck on the road. Whether they drive around large trucks every day or only come across one occasionally, alertdriving offers lesson plans that make these safety concepts memorable. The goal is to ensure drivers carry this awareness with them every time they get behind the wheel, putting key defensive driving skills into practice, such as how to safely drive around commercial trucks. Contact our subject matter experts at sales@alertdriving.com today to get your fleet drivers started learning how to stay safe and keep everyone else on the road safe as well. 

Sources: 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/politics/queens-park/article/commercial-trucker-training-and-licensing-problematic-in-ontario-auditor-general/ 

https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialaudits/en2026/AR_2026_CommTrucking_EN.html 

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Tips%20for%20Driving%20Safely%20Around%20Large%20Trucks%20and%20Buses_10-10-16.pdf