Saskatchewan farmers will soon be required to take a training course if they want to drive a semi truck.
Families of those killed and injured in the Humboldt Broncos crash have been pressing for these and other changes for more than a year.
The changes were announced Wednesday morning by the provincial government.
Starting March 1, 2020, those driving semis will be required to take at least 40 hours of training. In 2021, they’ll be required to take the full 121 hours of training required by all commercial semi drivers.
At the time of the Broncos crash in April of last year, semi driver training was optional in every province except Ontario.
The Saskatchewan government joined Ontario, making training mandatory, but farmers were exempted as long as they didn’t leave the province. The decision was criticized by some, but the government said it wanted to conduct further consultation.
Those consultations are now complete, according to a government news release.
“The majority of people we consulted in the agriculture sector agreed training was necessary to improve safety for everyone travelling on our roads,” said Joe Hargrave, Minister responsible for SGI.