When you see a truck with the Bandstra or Lomak insignia on the side, you're now looking at a "premium carrier."
The two locally-based trucking companies have earned the status through a transportation ministry program that seeks to recognize and reward carriers who show an exceptional commitment to safety.
The program is open to all trucking and busing companies with a fleet of at least 20 vehicles and have been operating in B.C. for at least three straight years.
They must also meet "strict safety criteria," said transportation minister Shirley Bond just prior to presenting Bandstra and Lomak with the designation during the grand opening of the Red Rock weigh scale on Saturday.
The criteria include a national safety code score better than the provincial median score and two of either a WorkSafeBC certificate of recognition, an above-average workers compensation safety record or a vehicle insurance discount of 50 per cent or better.
And none of the enhanced licence plates in the company's fleet can have been pulled in the last year.
Those who qualify will be the "best of the best," and the designation can be used as a marketing tool, according to Bond. "It'll be like that golden seal of approval that says 'we are a premium carrier,'" she said.
A premium carrier is given a certificate to display at the office, a watermark for the company stationery and inclusion on the commercial vehicle safety and enforcement website.
Moreover, if they want them, they're given transponders at no cost which allow them to take advantage of the weigh-in-motion technology now in place at 10 locations across the province and they're automatically assigned the lowest random report percentage of five per cent.
