By Lilli Chiu

The fuel tanker that fell through the Deline ice road in the Northwest Territories back in 2016 was overweight, likely due to the extra 1,000 kilograms of snow and ice that had accumulated on the truck between the weigh station and the crash site.1

Not every truck with snow and ice accumulation makes a dramatic end like this one, but there’s no reason for a commercial vehicle to have extreme build-up when arriving at a weigh station. The fines are too steep for it just to be accepted as part of the cost of doing business. If there are a series of drivers being stopped and fined for being overweight, that will show up on your fleet record. And an insurer looking at that record may get the impression that you aren’t managing your risk properly.

Most professional drivers already know what to do before they head out on the road. They know to allow extra time for transit, and they are equipped with emergency kits and informed of weather conditions. If you’ve made it a priority in your company culture, they also know the importance of a daily vehicle walk around, and they know it’s dangerous to take shortcuts during that walk around just because the weather is too cold.

The bigger issue is what happens when a driver is already in transit and something unexpected happens. Whether it’s driving through a storm or just moving through a snowy area, snow and ice can accumulate on the vehicle and have an impact on the rig’s overall weight. The snow and ice build-up on trailers can cause significant vehicle damage and serious personal injuries to drivers and other road users. What should a fleet or an individual driver to do when they’re regularly getting caught for being overweight, when they weren’t overweight leaving the customer site?

  1. Stay on top of the weather. Look ahead at the weather forecasts across the country. Be aware of coming storms and challenging weather patterns, and schedule drivers around those patterns. If necessary, direct your drivers to stay off the roads entirely during extreme weather.
  2. Provide alternate routes. This isn’t your first winter with your fleet. Looking back on challenges from previous years, you may be able to identify which roads were trickier to navigate during the winter months. If possible, suggest alternate routes to save time and money.
  3. Offer driver education programs. Provide a refresher course for your drivers to teach them the effects of winter weather on their driving abilities and to address what actions to take during critical winter driving situations. Focus specifically on the best way to handle snow and ice buildup while en route, including reminders of the dangers of slips, trips and falls.
  4. Provide portable snow removal tools. There are specific tools available for the transportation industry that have telescopic or flexible handles to eliminate drivers climbing onto trailers and trailer roofs by removing snow and ice at ground level. Driver safety is important especially where the risk of a slip or fall is greater when climbing on trailer roofs and working at heights.
  5. Consider a permanent or portable snow clearing device. Investing in a structural mechanical device designed to remove snow at trailer height can be a solution for permanent branch locations. These devices clear the trailer snow as the truck drives through the structure allowing the device to sweep the snow from the trailer roof.
  6. Partner with snow removal companies to provide service. An alternate option for fleets can be sourcing out dedicated trailer roof snow removal companies that are mobile. These services can be utilized for stored trailers, remote sites or trailers in transit to provide trailer roof snow and ice removal.

For drivers on long-haul trips, it’s important to take note of weight restrictions in different jurisdictions before they set out on a trip. Planning ahead can go a long way toward managing risk appropriately – and saving time and money in the process.

Contact your HUB Transportation specialist for more information on establishing best practices and managing your fleet risk.

1 Truck that plunged through Deline ice road in 2016 was 4,000 kg overweight, report finds, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/deline-ice-road-crash-infrastructure-report-1.4545787