Chohan Freight Forwarders, a fleet of 65 trucks based in British Columbia, has been shut down by the province’s Minister of Transportation, Rob Fleming, following a worrying series of accidents involving trucks colliding with infrastructure. After another truck operating under Chohan’s authority struck a bridge on December 28th, Fleming enforced the law with strong words. “This must stop. We know that the vast majority of commercial drivers in B.C. operate safely and responsibly. However, some operators are apparently not getting the message,” he stated in an official release.
In the interest of public safety, British Columbia’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) division used its new powers to suspend Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd.’s safety certificate. This means that the company’s entire fleet of 65 commercial vehicles is prohibited from operating in B.C. since December 29th, 2023. Furthermore, the driver and the responsible carrier will face the toughest fines in the country. The outcome of the investigation may lead to further action. This suspension results from the company’s inability or unwillingness to operate safely within the province, following its sixth infrastructure crash in two years.
The B.C. CVSE recently announced increased fines and the capacity to fully halt fleets with suspensions for patterns like these bridge strikes. Across Canada, motorists continued to report sightings of Chohan-branded trucks on the road. Local media reported that Chohan-associated carriers in other provinces still have the right to operate.
In a statement to CBC News, Chohan attributed the accident to an owner-operator: “Unfortunately, one of our trucks, operated by an owner-operator, was involved in an accident today in Delta,” Chohan told CBC News. “The driver, who is not a company driver, failed to wait to receive his permit and route directions for his oversized load.” The company outlined a timeline of mere minutes between the safety department asking the operator to wait before driving to obtain the correct permit and a call notifying safety that he had crashed into an overpass.
Among the other five crashes highlighted by authorities, at least one occurred at the same bridge. Chohan’s United States Department of Transportation records, reflecting inspections that occurred in the United States, detail 16 truck inspections with a 40% out-of-service rate, significantly higher than the national average of 22.26%. The company told CBC it had an “exemplary” safety record.
Chohan Freight Forwarders is part of a group of companies known as Chohan Group, which boasts an “impressive fleet of flatbeds to handle virtually any freight situation” and an “entire team” of “experienced transportation professionals.” The crash occurred on Highway 99 in Delta, British Columbia, near the U.S. border. Another local news source suggested that Canadian bridges displaying measurements in meters, not feet and inches, may have contributed to the problem.
