There have been a number of reported incidents in Kamloops this summer of semi-trucks catching fire, on Highway 1 in Valleyview.

Reports say the cause is often trucks riding their brakes down the hill.

BC Trucking Association president Dave Earle says this can happen if trucks are in the wrong gear and ride their brakes for too long.

“If you pick the wrong gear and start moving too fast, your engine brake may not be able to give you that extra braking power. And that’s when you end up getting on your other brake system, which is your air brake system, and they’re not going to be able to hold 100,000 pounds if you’re coming down a long hill. That’s why you have brake checks and making sure you have everything set up,” Earle says.

“These guys are all trained, they should know what to do. It’s part of licensing, it’s part of training, it’s part of the route planning that they to do. So if that’s happened, somebody has made a mistake.”

Earle says a lot of brake checks have signs for truckers about the downhill grade coming up and how long it is.

The elevation drop from the Inks Lake brake check to Valleyview in Kamloops is more than 900 metres.