The British Columbia government issued a formal cancellation notice to Chohan Freight Forwarders, the carrier that crashed six times in two years into the province’s infrastructure.
“On Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in the interest of safety, a formal cancellation notice was issued to Chohan Freight Forwarders for its operations in B.C.,” Rob Fleming, minister of transportation and infrastructure, said in a statement on the trucking company’s ability to operate in the province.
“This is the most severe action that can be taken against a company with multiple infractions – and it sends a clear message to operators that infrastructure crashes around our province need to stop. It has never been easier to follow a route to guide a load safely through our highway system and avoid the potential for impact with infrastructure,” he added.
A truck struck and damaged an overpass on Highway 99 in Delta, B.C. in July 2023. (Photo: Delta Police Department)
“We know the vast majority of commercial drivers in B.C. operate safely and responsibly. This decision, issued by the independent director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch, follows changes that allow for progressive enforcement of suspensions to better deal with those few companies and drivers who are not being safe and responsible.”
Carriers sue government to revoke suspension
B.C. carrier Chohan Freight Forwarders and Alberta-based Chohan Group recently filed petitions in the B.C. Supreme Court saying the B.C. government wrongly concluded they were “one operation” after an overpass crash last December and wanted the court to let them both back on the province’s roads.
The companies said in B.C. Supreme Court petitions that they’re separate legal entities but have a family connection.
Chohan Freight said it wants its safety certificate restored after a truck driven by an owner-operator hit an overpass on Highway 99 in Delta in December 2023, lodging construction girders into the structure.
The company said the suspension that took its fleet off B.C. roads is unreasonable, costing upwards of $1 million a week, and the independent contractor involved in the crash has admitted fault and been terminated.
Chohan Group, meanwhile, said the B.C. government wrongfully denied it oversized load permits after the December crash, and the firm has never been involved in a highway infrastructure crash “in Alberta, British Columbia or otherwise.”
