Ontario legislation introduced to mandate speed limiters

OOIDA's Rick Craig: Speed limiter issue in Canada could spill across the border.

The Trucker News Services

4/15/2008

ONTARIO — The Ontario government has introduced a bill in the legislature that if approved, would mandate that all trucks operating in the province be governed at 105 kilometers or 65 mph, and one American trucking group spokesman said that political ball could just roll on over into the U.S.

The legislation was introduced yesterday by Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) in the U.S. and the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada (OBAC) filed comments opposing such a mandate roughly two years ago when the Ministry of Transportation asked for comments. Quebec has similar legislation but they put it on hold until other provinces come on board, noted Rick Craig, director of regulatory affairs for OOIDA.

Now the issue “has entered the political arena,” said Craig. “And once any issue enters the political arena common sense does not prevail.” The issue in Canada “could gain momentum and spill over across the border,” he added.

He said a poll was taken of Canadian car drivers asking if they thought heavy truck speeds should be limited and that 60 to 70 percent were in favor. But, he said, none thought their personal automobile speeds should be curtailed.

He said such a mandate will create split speeds, which studies have shown contribute to more accidents.

“You get out on any stretch of highway ... just try it and see what happens,” said Joanne Ritchie, head of OBAC, in earlier media reports. Truckers would have an especially hard time in states such as North Dakota, where the official speed limit is 75 mph and most cars travel faster, she added.

“We’ve started a postcard campaign to contact members of provincial parliament and we’re also staging events to hook up truckers” with their elected Canadian officials as part of a “grassroots effort” to block the legislation, Craig said.

The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) has been pushing for the activation of speed limiters on heavy trucks for almost 2.5 years, noted the OTA’s Web site. South of the Canadian border, the American Trucking Associations has also advocated the mandated use of speed governors.

OTA President David Bradley (no relation to the transportation minister) said the Ontario legislation was “a significant step forward for highway safety and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” The bill “just makes sense,” he said. “Not only is there a direct relationship between speed and the severity of crashes, but there is a direct pay-back in improved fuel efficiency from operating at lower speeds and that in turn reduces costs and GHG emissions.”

If governments want to make the roads safer, Ritchie said, they should have police enforce existing speed limits on all vehicles.