Class 1 licence changes affect farmers

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This article was published 06/08/2019 (2279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After Aug. 31, anyone seeking a Manitoba Class 1 driver’s licence to drive a farm vehicle will have a year in which to complete 121.5 hours of new mandatory entry level training.

Manitoba Public Insurance representative Dean Zarillo spoke to Keystone Agricultural Producers members about the upcoming changes at KAP’s advisory council meeting in Portage la Prairie on July 30.

The mandatory entry-level training will take effect for new drivers of all other Class 1 vehicles starting Sept. 1, but MPI is giving those who drive vehicles with farm plates an extra year.

Zarillo said the training is standardized and will provide Manitoba semi-trailer drivers with the same level of training as their counterparts in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, provinces that have also introduced mandatory training for new drivers. He expects other provinces to follow later this year.

“Our overall goal for Class 1 drivers is safety,” Zarillo said.

Zarillo said he wants people to realize that the new mandatory training requirement just applies to those trying to get a Class 1 licence after Aug. 31. However drivers from other provinces holding Class 1 licences for a year or less will also have to take the training within a year to get their Manitoba licence.

“Manitoba drivers who have their Class 1 issued before Sept. 1 don’t need retesting,” he said.
Starting in September, a person who has obtained their Class 1 licence, but not taken the training, can’t legally drive a farm vehicle outside Manitoba.

Zarillo said two Class 1 driver training schools are now certified to offer the entry-level training program, and he expects that about six others will soon be certified. He pointed out that anyone who takes the professional truck driver training program that entails 244 hours of training is automatically considered to have completed the new entry-level training as well.
Zarillo said the guidelines for the new mandatory training program were drafted after MPI consulted with over 100 stakeholders and commercial driving schools.

KAP vice-president Jill Verwey of Portage la Prairie, expressed frustration over the current delay farm employees are experiencing when trying to book a Class 1 driving test outside Winnipeg.

“I have three individuals on my farm that haven’t been able to get in since April and do their road test,” she said.

Manitoba Infrastructure representative Jeremy Angus defended MPI’s driver testing system.

“That fact that MPI didn’t hire more people isn’t fair because I don’t think there are more people to hire.”

Zarillo admitted that the professional driving schools book testing dates for their students and this impacts the availability of appointments for others who want to be tested.

“It’s a capacity issue at this point,” he said.

Angus said agriculture is the only economic sector in Manitoba being given a deferral on the new mandatory training.