The Humboldt Broncos bus crash steered Mackenzie McKeown’s profession towards bettering truck driver coaching, occupational medication, and public well being and security.
The College of Saskatchewan PhD candidate, a Humboldt, Sask., native is conducting two research – utilizing know-how to enhance pupil driver coaching and bettering truck stops – aimed toward bettering the life and dealing circumstances of truckers.
McKeown was an undergrad on April 6, 2018, when 16 folks have been killed and 13 injured after a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey staff was struck by a tractor-trailer on a rural freeway intersection within the province.
“I used to be roughly a 12 months older than a lot of the victims. I labored on the rink all 12 months all through highschool on the concession stand and through each Broncos recreation. My fiancé was a goalie for the AA staff and his household used to billet Broncos.
“I noticed how the crash affected our neighborhood,” she stated.
McKeown’s father is a carpenter and he or she’s seen how the job has taken a bodily toll on him. “I’m working with the trucking trade, however it might be cool to increase to different trades, as all want enchancment in coaching. It’s troublesome for the employees to seek out work-life stability. They don’t get the appreciation they deserve.”
The analysis introduced itself when she was a Grasp’s in public well being pupil. She reached out to Dr. Alexander Crizzle, director of the driving simulation laboratory on the college, who’s now her supervisor.
Standardizing MELT
In a single examine, McKeown’s purpose is to standardize MELT (obligatory entry-level coaching) throughout Canada by bettering simulator coaching for pupil drivers.
She is recruiting 100 longhaul truck drivers for the examine on difficult driving conditions and has 24 volunteers up to now. Contributors are requested to finish questionnaires, provide a well being evaluation, and carry out exams assessing imaginative and prescient, cognition and motor skills.
Coaching for difficult conditions
Additionally they use a driving simulator and face difficult conditions like being lower off by four-wheelers and nighttime wintery circumstances.
McKeown stated, “A brand new driver coaching in Saskatchewan just isn’t practising driving totally loaded trailers within the B.C. mountains. Give them a possibility to observe for these conditions. It should profit fleets as they may have safer drivers and fewer prices for repairs and insurance coverage premiums.”
For the second examine on truck stops, she is searching for 400 longhaul truckers in Canada to share views in an on-line survey on what sorts of facilities are required to tell future growth of services. McKeown will conduct interviews with trucking firms, authorities representatives and trucking associations to acquire extra data.
“Truck stops in Canada don’t present the chance to be bodily energetic, don’t have reasonably priced wholesome meals choices and quiet sleeping choices,” she famous.
Drivers excited about volunteering for the research can e mail McKeown (mackenzie.mckeown@usask.ca) for extra data.
She’s going to full the info assortment by the tip of the 12 months and current the studies earlier than June 2025.
