Trucking in Alberta and smoking

[Bookworm]

Cabs must be smoke-free Published: Saturday, January 12, 2008
Alberta truck drivers are angry the province's new smoking ban prevents them from lighting up on the job because it considers work vehicles workplaces.
According to the legislation, known as Bill 45, employees of trucking companies can't smoke in their cabs, even if used sporadically or if they contain a sleeper.
The legislation, however, applies not only to trucks, but to all company vehicles, government vehicles and private industry vehicles: any vehicle that can be shared by more than a single employee.
Fines for those who violate the legislation range from $1,000 to $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 to $100,000 for companies.
According to the Tobacco Reduction Act, which came into effect Jan. 1, a workplace includes all or any part of a building, structure or other enclosed area in which employees perform their duties, including work vehicles.
Work vehicles are any vehicle owned or leased by an employer and used by employees during the course of their job.
With deadlines and schedules to meet, he said, added stops for cigarette breaks are going to affect production in an industry that's grappling with an escalating shortage of commercial drivers.
According to Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, the new law makes sense. "It's a confined space and that means people are at an increased risk of exposure to second-hand smoke," Hagen said. "It's a safety issue and smoking while driving is an additional safety risk." Hagen said he believes companies should help hold their employees responsible to the new regulations.


Taken from a article in the Calgary Herald

I have already heard of one trucker who has been ticketed ---- Total to him and company $17,000

Dave