A restricted Class 1, farm family-only driver’s licence supports an industry grappling with trucking shortages and other economic pressures, UCP ministers told the legislature May 22.
“Farming is challenging at the best of times, and transportation is just one of the many hurdles that Alberta farmers and ranchers face,” said R.J. Sigurdson, the minister of agriculture and irrigation.
Sigurdson, the UCP member for Highwood, said the licence helps farmers and ranchers relieve financial pressure in time-constrained schedules. Eventually it should also help reduce trucking shortages.
“This is a huge step forward in ensuring a healthy agricultural supply chain that feeds families here and across the globe,” Sigurdson said.
The licence, which took effect April 1, exempts farmers and their immediate families from mandatory entry-level training, or MELT. Class 1 licences are required for driving tractor-trailer units on Alberta roads.
The Humbolt Broncos tragedy in 2018 had provincial governments across the country re-evaluating their approach to trucker training, and in 2020 the Canadian Council of Motor Administrators adopted MELT as the national standard.
Sixteen people died and 13 others were injured because of the crash April 6, 2018, near Armley, Sask. A licensed Class 1 driver with little experience failed to stop at an intersection, and his tractor-trailer unit was broadsided by a bus carrying junior hockey players.
Devin Dreeshen, the minister of transportation and economic corridors, said Alberta is ensuring its Class 1 truckers are the best trained in the country, despite the exemption for farms.
Safety is a “top priority,” which is why the exemption applies only to farms, said Dreeshen, the member for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.
The MELT pathway “will ensure that the right training at the right time with the right vehicle is actually happening here in the province,” Dreeshen said.
“We also understand the unique realities of our farmers, and that’s why we are exempting farmers and their family members from any type of pre-licensing requirement to help alleviate the trucking pressures in that industry.”
Farming-restricted Class 1 drivers must complete a knowledge and roads test and vision screening, along with an air-brake endorsement. They must submit a medical assessment.
The licence allows drivers to do farm-related, Class 1 driving, like delivering animals, grains or produce and transporting farm equipment.
