Alberta to Implement Stricter Measures to Address ‘Bad Truck Drivers’

Commercial carriers in Alberta will now be required to provide driver experience records for Class 1 truck drivers, as part of provincial measures to ensure future employers and insurers have the information needed to assess a driver before they get behind the wheel.

The province made the announcement on Nov. 26, describing it as one more measure to improve highway safety and raise standards in the commercial trucking industry. 

The initiative will require commercial carriers to provide an up-to-date record to employees with Class 1 licences when their employment ends. The document, referred to by the province as a Class 1 standardized record of driving experience, can then be presented to future employers or insurers to verify the driver’s experience.

“We’ve heard from Albertans that bad truck drivers are still on our roads and there seem to be gaps in accountability in the industry,” said Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen.

He added that the new measure will ensure a driver’s record follows them, so companies can make informed decisions when it comes to hiring or insuring a driver. 

The province says the new record will include information not found on other commercial driver documents, such as driver abstracts. It noted that while abstracts contain information such as traffic convictions, licence suspensions, and commercial transportation safety violations, they do not provide details about a driver’s experience with the types of vehicles and cargo relevant to their work.

The new record would include information such as the type of vehicle and jurisdictions in which the driver operates.

Carriers will have from December until May 2026 to become familiar with the requirement and the standardized form, and will be expected to be in full compliance by June 1, 2026.

The driver experience record was developed in consultation with the commercial sector and insurance industry, the province said. It follows the amendment earlier this year of the Commercial Vehicle Certificate and Insurance Regulation to include the experience record. 

As part of its work to improve highway safety in the commercial trucking industry this year, the province has closed five driver training schools found to be fraudulent, removed 13 unsafe carriers, revoked 12 instructor licences, and issued over $100,000 in penalties to those failing to meet safety standards.

The province says the new measure will not only recognize good drivers for their clean record, but also help commercial carriers access more affordable insurance options by making it easier to assess a driver’s experience.