Canada seems to have found a solution for the country's chronic shortage of truck drivers.

Ranked by the World Health Organization and the World Bank as having one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, Vietnam's road carnage is referred to an "epidemic" of death and disability.

"I don't think this is a good idea," said Diep Trinh, president of the Vietnamese-Canadian Federation, the umbrella body which represents 14 provincial Vietnamese-Canadian associations with thousands of members.

"The rate of car and truck accidents in Vietnam is very high...most of the accidents involve motorcycles," Trinh told The Asian Pacific Post in a telephone interview.

"I am not saying all Vietnamese truck drivers are bad...but there is a culture of driving in Vietnam and many... many have bad habits...they have not learned how to drive properly," said Diep Trinh, realizing his comments will likely cause a stir in the Vietnamese community.

"Many truck drivers in Vietnam drive recklessly and do not observe the law and this could have problems for Canada," said Trinh.

"If there is a police road block, they drive slowly...if there are no controls it is very dangerous...they don't care about rules or regulations," he said.

Vietnamese trucker takes a nap in a hammock under his truck

"I would suggest at least for one year," he said.

The numbers Trinh is talking about are frightening.

An estimated 35 people are killed in traffic accidents daily in Vietnam - the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 jetliner crashing every three weeks.

For everyone killed, two suffer brain injury or become permanently handicapped.

Last month alone 874 people were killed on Vietnamese roads bringing the death toll for the first seven months of the year to 7,200. Close to 10,000 others were injured in the same time period.

In 2003, more than 11,800 people were killed in traffic accidents in Vietnam.

Eighty percent of the victims ride small 125-cc motorcycles and are easily brushed aside by trucks and cars.

The situation has become so bad that Vietnam TV this month began a daily show featuring road accidents and live images from inside Hanoi emergency rooms in an effort to curb traffic accidents.

Ford Vietnam and BP Vietnam have also begun a massive road safety program in the country which includes "behavior modification for drivers and passengers."

It is from these deadly roads now that Canada seems to have found a solution for the country's chronic shortage of truck drivers.

Vietnam's Department for Overseas Labour Management in a statement said that the government-controlled Suleco, a labour export company based in Hanoi, has signed a contract to send Vietnamese truck drivers to Canada

Under the contract, Suleco will select 200 male truck drivers to go to Canada from now to the end of 2004. These drivers will work for two years in Canada.

The statement said this is the first time Vietnamese workers will go to Canada.

The state-run Vietnam News Agency said Canadian companies will pay US$35,000 annually to each driver. The salary, the paper said is the highest paid to Vietnamese guest workers who are now in more than 40 different countries.

The workers are to be processed through programs under the auspices of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC).

With less than 10,000 miles of paved roads, Vietnam may well have the world's deadliest highway system said the Hanoi-based Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, which is leading the fight for child road safety throughout Asia.

Motorcyclists in Vietnam, not truckers, are the problem says an expert

In an interview with The Asian Pacific Post from Hanoi he said: "as a developing country, Vietnam has very poor infrastructure as well as old equipment. New laws are already removing old trucks and unsafe vehicles.

The government has taken major steps to address road safety and is now one of the leading nations in the world in their efforts to improve road safety. So good in fact, the World Bank is funding the world's first road safety improvement loan ($25m USD) next year."

The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council estimates Canada needs nearly 224,000 new drivers " 37,000 annually " over the next six years to satisfy the demand resulting from economic growth, combined with attrition from the industry.

Council spokesman Ray Barton told The Asian Pacific Post the shortage of truck drivers is chronic from coast-to-coast.

He said bringing in truck drivers from Asia and other countries is just one component of tackling the issue.

"I assume in Vietnam like all developing nations that the condition of the roads, rules of the road and the age of vehicles all contribute to a high accident rate."

Barton, however, feels that by hiring experienced Vietnamese drivers who are properly qualified and given the driving culture and conditions in Canada, Vietnamese truckers should not pose a problem.

Saskatchewan, he said, recently brought in over 100 truck drivers from the United Kingdom to help ease the shortage.

In British Columbia, many of the 35,000 trucking companies registered in the province are also facing driver shortages said Louise Yako of the B.C. Trucking Association.

She said a meeting has been planned with government for next month to get Victoria's involvement in bringing in foreign drivers.

"Most of the discussions have revolved around drivers from European countries because of their compatible driving standards," she said. Stephen Anderson of the Ontario Trucking Association estimates the province needs 15,000 drivers every year for the next five years.

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