The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has extended the deadline to Oct. 1, for truck driving schools to incorporate detailed lesson plans in their mandatory entry-level training (MELT) programs.
On Dec. 24, 2024, the MTO had issued a bulletin to all MELT providers clarifying existing requirements for lesson plans in all programs conforming to the Commercial Truck Driver Training Standard (Class A). The bulletin mentioned that the driving schools had until July 1, 2025, to submit the minute-by-minute lesson plans to the ministry.
Responding to a query from trucknews.com, an MTO official said, “Course providers are expected to submit updated curricula, including lesson plans, to the Ministry of Colleges, Universities and Research Excellence and Security by the new deadline of Oct. 1, 2025. Those that fail to do so may be subject to compliance actions. This includes any course providers found delivering non-compliant lesson plans after the deadline.”
Narinderpal Jaswal of A2Z Driving School in Waterloo, Ont., who is also the president the Ontario Commercial Truck Training Association (OCTTA) is asking the group’s members to hold off on preparing the minute-by-minute plan until the MTO provides clarifications.
OCTTA requests standard plan for all schools
He said that minute-by-minute lesson plans can be implemented in the classroom but do not work on the road. The association has consulted with the MTO and requested that it provide a standard lesson plan for all driving schools in the province.
Jaswal noted that hiring a consultant for the updated curricula costs around $2,000. In the current economic situation, driving schools are already feeling the pinch and this will add to the burden, he said.
Traffic and weather woes
Philip Fletcher, president of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO) said that member schools had concerns about the detailed plans during on-the-road classes.
Given the traffic conditions in the Greater Toronto Area, it will be difficult to list out what will be happening every minute on the road, including observing, teaching and talking.
Construction during the warmer months and bad weather in the colder months will create issues as well, Fletcher noted. He added that it will be difficult to provide oversight.
He said that TTSAO has plans underway to provide a collective lesson plan that all members could utilize.
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