Truck Speed Limiter Law Introduced in Ontario Legislature

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Ontario Trucking Association: Truck Speed Limiter Law Introduced in Ontario Legislature

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 19, 2008 - It was nearly two and a half years ago that the Ontario Trucking Association first proposed the idea of mandating the activation of speed limiters on heavy trucks that operate into, out of and within the province, at a maximum speed of no more than 105 km/hr. So, the introduction of a bill today in the Ontario legislature by transportation minister, Jim Bradley, to do just that was welcomed by OTA, whose president, David Bradley (no relation to the transportation minister) called it "a significant step forward for highway safety and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

A speed limiter is an electronic microchip that has been installed on virtually every new heavy truck engine built since the mid-1990's and when set, acts as a "speed governor." The activation of speed limiters has been mandated in the European Union for well over a decade and, according to OTA, at least half of the trucks currently operating on Ontario's highways have activated their speed limiters. Quebec passed similar legislation late last year and is expected to co-ordinate implementation with Ontario.

"It just makes sense," says OTA's Bradley. "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." OTA estimates substantive GHG emissions reductions perhaps on the order of 280 kilotonnes per year.

According to Bradley, "truck drivers are the least likely to be excessively speeding, but there are some who need to slow it down and this technology will allow us to do that without putting a further drain on police resources that would be better spent going after reckless motorists and criminals."
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Truckers say speed limiters should be for all vehicles
3/20/08

Big rigs will be forced to slow down on Ontario roads under new legislation proposed Wednesday by Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.
New regulations would compel trucks to use speed limiters - built-in microchips that can preset a truck's top speed - which would be capped at 105 kilometres per hour.

Using technology that forces only a certain segment of traffic to slow down won't work, says trucker George Smith, who was taking a break at the Highway 400 McDonalds parking lot Thursday afternoon.
"We're not the problem. Trucks are normally doing 105 or 110 km/hr anyway because of the gearing," said.

"It's the cars exceeding the speed limit, going 130 or 140 km/h, and how do you stop that? If everybody was doing the speed limit it would be fine, but all the cars are designed to be so fast these days," he said, adding "it's the vehicles which weave in and out of traffic who cause the situations."
Different parts of North America have different speed limits and different laws regarding limiters, he added.
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/Art....aspx?e=952411