According to a poll conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), 62.4 percent of Canadian drivers do not believe driver training programs for passenger vehicles provide adequate education about sharing the road with large trucks
. Another 20.2 percent of respondents said they did not know whether training is adequate or not.

"Perhaps not surprisingly, a majority of the respondents (60.2 percent) supported requirements to test drivers of passenger cars to see if they know how to safely share the road with large trucks before obtaining a driver's license," said Ward Vanlaar, vice president of research at TIRF.

When asked about safe driving practices when sharing the road with a large truck, 64.2 percent believed they knew the minimum distance a driver should leave between their vehicle and a large truck. In addition, 77.2 percent of respondents said they knew where the truck driver's blind spots are.

"What was unexpected was that a reasonably large number of Canadians admit they actually do not know about these safe driving practices," said Vanlaar. "In light of these findings, perhaps it should not be surprising that so many Canadians believe driver training for sharing the road with large trucks is inadequate."

According to TIRF, the number of fatal collisions has not changed much between 2000 and 2006, and the number of injury crashes involving large trucks increased from 7,802 to 9,366 between 2001 and 2005.

"Despite a slight decrease in 2006 to 9,066 injury crashes, the problem seems to be more pronounced among certain types of large trucks," said Vanlaar. "More annual data are needed to confirm whether this decrease in 2006 will continue in the future."

In terms of driving alongside trucks, the top concern of Canadian drivers was driver fatigue and long hours of service, at 69.7 percent. Other concerns included vehicles not meeting safety standards, at 67.1 percent, and speeding, at 63.8 percent.

Vanlaar pointed out that government agencies and industry have been taking steps to address these concerns, including a new federal regulation governing truck driver hours of service. The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and the provincial trucking associations also advocate the mandatory installation of tamper-proof devices that electronically monitor a driver's hours. This measure received the greatest support from respondents.

The results are based on the Road Safety Monitor, an annual public opinion poll developed and conducted by TIRF. A total of 1,200 Canadian drivers completed the poll in September and October of 2009.

For more information, visit www.tirf.ca.