There are few sights in the world that can compare to the beauty of a freshly washed rig. The light bounces off of the streak-free metal, the tires are that fresh new-tire black, and the colors shine brightly as the truck flies along the open road. There’s a sense of immense pride that can be felt when you climb out of your rig to greet other drivers’ envious stares. Another reason has been added to make sure you take pride in the appearance of your truck; if your rig is too dirty, you might not be allowed to deliver your load.
The Canadian Border Services Agency has started barring trucks that seem to dirty entry into the country. The measure is an attempt to maintain the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s regulations that prohibit the importation of soil into the country.
“The importation of soil into Canada is generally prohibited because regulated quarantine plant pests can travel in soil,” said Elena Koutsavakis, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency media relations officer. “These invasive pests are often not easily visible to the naked eye and can hitch a ride in the soil under people’s vehicles.”
“Vehicles found to be contaminated with soil may be refused entry under the authority of the [Canadian] Plant Protection Act,” Koutsavakis said.
“All vehicles should be clean and free of soil and soil-related matter [such as] muck, earthworm castings, leaf litter prior to arriving in Canada,” Koutsavakis said. “Soil is a high-risk pathway for regulated quarantine pests [such as] potato cyst nematodes that can cause serious harm to Canada’s natural resources.”
Apparently some trucks are so dirty, they’re carrying around enough dirt and muck to unbalance a whole ecosystem. So remember to keep your rig in pristine condition – It not only can keep you running where you need to go, but also gives a sense of professionalism and pride that our industry seems to have been sadly lacking.
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Source: fleetowner
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Cause this stuff cannot walk over the border…
Good point.
This is dumb.
We’ll they are Canadians.
It must never rain or snow in Canada…all roads must be clean and dry and swept 365 days a year….get real
Should I wash my butt too before I enter Canada ?? Nah. Seriously tho, who doesn’t like a clean truck ? I understand UPS has a truck wash and after every day each truck gets washed. Cool ! Should we make Canadians entering the USA wash their trucks first ? Nah, Americans don’t watch the borders anymore. Anyone can come in. 🙁
I drive in Canada, mainly throughout BC, but also BC/Alta routes. It’s utterly pointless to keep spending money on washing the tractors and trailers all the time because for at least 8 months of the year there’s dirt on the roads.
They don’t use salt or sand or even the new chemical stuff that supposedly keeps the roads ice free. They spread dirt on the highway, with the added bonus of lots of pebbles and the occasional rock or two in the crap (great for keeping the windshield replacement industry busy). So during the winter, you can wash your truck and within 20 minutes it’s totally dirty again. Also it’s so much fun trying to find a place to pull over on our two lane highways in the middle of nowhere in order to wipe the mud off the headlights so you can see more than 6 feet ahead of you.
But, after winter leaves and goes back to hell where it came from, the dirt is still all over the place, and it takes the highways crews up to 3 months in some places to sweep it away. So if you’re really lucky you have a window of anywhere from at best, 5 months to at worst 2 months, of the year without dirt getting your rig dirty as all hell.
So, like I said, it’s pointless to spend our hard earned cash keeping the outside of everything all shiny and clean. I know some guys do, but most have enough tax write-offs keeping the DOT away. Maybe if companies would give their drivers chits for wash bays a lot of trucks would be cleaner. But that’s for that magic 20 minute window anyways, so they don’t.
there are places right here in the US that won’t let you load a dirty trailer.
In Australia we have a quarantine inspection point between Western Australia and South Australia at a place called Eucla. It’s called “quarantine inspection” for a reason-any vehicle (commercial or private) can’t pass if it contains soil or vegetable matter that isn’t accompanied by paperwork. The idea is too prevent te spread of soil and plant borne diseases which could cost millions of dollars if not controlled. The Canadians don’t care if your truck is a bit dirty, they do care if you are carrying a disease that could potentially wipe out their crops. Think about it, what if the roles were reversed?
Doesn’t hundreds of tons of dust blow across the world on a daily basis? Canada might be getting dust carried in from Nebraska, Wyoming and Iowa, while the Eastern states get dust from Quebec and Ontario. So washing trucks with a few pounds of dirt is going to prevent an alien invasion?