B.C. transport operation carries on after licences pulled
Bindy Sangara's operation delivers groceries for Overwaitea Foods
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 4:34 PM PT
By Kathy Tomlinson CBC News
A smouldering Bayridge Transport trailer was left on the side of the highway after an accident in July. (CBC) A large B.C. trucking operation is under government scrutiny after some of its drivers were caught working several hours over legal limits and faking their logbooks.
Bayridge Transport, Bytruck Transport and BA Holdings lost their safety certificates in March over the violations, effectively cancelling their licences to operate. However, two other companies run by the same organization still have some 200 trucks on the road.
"It's a ticking time bomb on the highway there — when a driver is over his hours and fatigued," said Jerry Reidell, the victim of a truck accident. "It breaks down to the bottom line. The dollar. It's corporate greed — and doing whatever to get their product in."
Audit documents show several occasions where Bayridge drivers had worked more than 16 hours a day — two hours over the legal limit. Auditors also found false entries in logbooks, where drivers under-reported how long they had been on the road.
Driver didn't try to stop
Reidell, a retired bus driver from Bellingham, Wash., is permanently disabled after being rear-ended in 2000 in Delta, B.C., by a Bayridge Transport tractor-trailer unit driven by Charanjit Cheema. Court documents show Bayridge admitted driver negligence was the cause.
Accident victim Jerry Reidell can't understand why the operation is allowed to carry on after licenses were pulled. (CBC) "Their driver hit me at 80 kilometres an hour without stopping at all," Reidell said. "No skid marks or anything. The truck was just coming. Not paying attention — or fatigued or whatever.
"My legs came up and broke the steering wheel — boom — and my head went back. My legs got as big as basketballs, from where the trauma was. I felt very lucky to live through that. And I couldn't believe that a truck hit me at that speed."
B.C. government documents show drivers from Bayridge and four other companies, all run by president Bindy Sangara, had 58 accidents in the last three years. Sangara's drivers were found at fault in 26 of them. In 10 of those cases, charges were laid.
According to the RCMP, a smouldering tractor owned by Bayridge was abandoned on the side of the highway in July for several days after an accident near Terrace, B.C. That truck was delivering groceries.
Audit documents show Bayridge drivers had several citations for speeding in 2007 and 2008. The overall non-compliance rate for driver hours of service in that period was 61 per cent.
Pattison company a major client
Rite Line Transport, one of Sangara's two companies that still have valid safety certificates, delivers produce for Overwaitea Foods. It is one of B.C.'s largest grocery chains and part of Jim Pattison's group of companies.
An industry insider, who worked for Sangara and wishes to remain anonymous, told CBC News the drivers were under constant pressure to deliver produce on time to Overwaitea's stores. He said company dispatchers weren't allowing enough time for drivers to stay within safe limits.
CBC News asked to speak to Sangara about this but was told he was not available. His company's lawyer, Bill McLaughlan, said he would advise his clients not to participate in an interview.
Bayridge Transport's safety certificate was pulled and some of its trucks now operate under Rite Line Transport's license. (CBC) Matthew May, vice-president of operations, then sent a statement, which said, in part: "Our operations have safety at the forefront … and maintain scores lower than the provincial median with respect to accidents."
"All of our customers were made aware of the background reasons for cancellation of [safety certificates] and we have worked closely with [government] to remedy the shortcomings."
When asked about the suggestion that drivers break safety rules to get produce delivered on time, Overwaitea Foods spokesperson Julie Dickson responded by email, "We have never, and would never, require any carrier to violate safety regulations while delivering goods to our stores."
However, Paul Landry of the B.C. Trucking Association said that when truck drivers chronically drive too long or too fast, it's often because their employers have undercut other operators and promised faster deliveries to clients.
"Unfortunately, some shippers chose to use those carriers without asking any questions," Landry said. "I think shippers are sort of part of the problem — in the sense that they need to think more about the quality of the service what the carrier is offering in terms of safety and security — not just price."
Too many licences, association says
The trucking association wants the loophole closed that allows trucking firms to continue operating under other company names, after safety certificates have been cancelled because of violations.
B.C. Trucking Association president Paul Landry said operators with poor records should not have multiple certificates. (CBC) "A lot of these national safety code numbers go back 10 or 12 years, in which case they were just handed out — essentially willy nilly. In some respects the horse is out of the barn, so now it's a matter of finding the right set of policies to get the situation under control."
Shirley Bond, B.C.'s minister of transportation, said the province is working closely with industry to find a solution. Bond said operations with multiple certificates are being scrutinized more closely.
"If there happens to be a cluster of companies that has a single director on it, if one or two or more of those companies is actually penalized and has their safety certificate removed, we audit the other companies as well."
Audits were just completed on Rite Line and Pro-West Transport, the two operators that still hold certificates in Sangara's operation. The results of those audits have not yet been made public.
There are 28,087 National Safety Code certificates held by operators in B.C. Twenty-seven certificates were cancelled this year because of non-compliance, including the three held by Sangara's firms. That's a significant increase over last year, when seven certificates were pulled.
"The ministry is taking a harder line in getting unsafe carriers off the road," wrote transportation ministry spokesperson Jeff Knight.
Drivers face tougher monitoring
At the government's urging, Matthew May said his operation has now installed electronic logs on 80 per cent of its trucks, to keep better track of how long drivers are on the road.
Vice president of operations Matthew May said drivers will now be monitored electronically. (CBC) "Drivers are no longer required to record their activities on a paper log book as they perform them, rather a computer with GPS support tracks the drivers activities and when such activities occur," May wrote.
Accident victim Reidell is also a professional driver and worked for Greyhound for 30 years. He still thinks the problem won't be fixed — unless shippers put safety over profits.
"Maybe companies will think twice about having shipments with a trucking company just because they are the lowest bid," Reidell said.
"When I'm in my car, I'm afraid. I have anxiety when there's a truck on my bumper or around me. That still haunts me to this day."
