Ontario Trucking News, Issue 114, January 2013

MTO Revises Permit Conditions for 60’ Trailer Pilot
Toronto, Ontario
- The Ontario Ministry
of Transportation
issued its revised
permit conditions for a
limited, 18-month trial
of a specific extended
length (60’6’) drop-deck
semi-trailer as initially
proposed by Walmart
Canada.
The new permit conditions
will apply to five
qualified carriers, with
four permits each. The
trial will be limited to
those shipping retail
goods, destined for the
retail industry.
The Ontario Trucking
Association, which felt the
initial permit conditions
fell well short of what was
necessary to ensure public
safety and fair treatment
of the trucking industry,
says the new conditions
have addressed many of
the association’s key concerns
and reflect most of
the recommendations put
forward by OTA in recent
weeks.
“While for the most
part the trucking industry
would prefer to not have
to deal with the whole
question of extended
length trailers, the association’s
long-standing
position is that it will not
stand in the way of changes
to Ontario’s truck
weights and dimensions
standards that would enhance
the productivity of
the industry, its customers
or the provincial economy
at large -- so long as the
proposed vehicles maintain
or enhance highway/
road safety; meet or exceed
provincial dynamic
performance standards;
produce environmental
benefits such as reduced
GHG emissions; and allow
for a sufficient return
on investment,” says OTA
president David Bradley.
“In addition, OTA has also
long held that only carriers
with acceptable safety
records – those who are
prepared to ensure the
safety of their fleets and
their drivers -- should
have access to such special
permits.”
OTA’s concerns were
addressed in several key
areas. For starters, OTA
objected to the clauses in
the proposed Memoran-
dum of Understanding
between the MTO and
Walmart which clearly
stated the permits would
be held by the shipper.
Under the revised permit
conditions, the permits
will be held by carriers.
“This was non-negotiable
for OTA,” said Bradley.
OTA also felt that the
proposed permit conditions
themselves were
too weak and should directionally
be similar to
those established for the
Ontario LCV program. In
other words, they should
mandate a meaningful
level of carrier qualification
– certainly more than
what was being proposed
(i.e., that the carrier only
had to have a satisfactory
safety rating). Under the
new conditions, carriers
will also need to maintain
a minimum of $5 million
liability insurance and
have at least five years of
prior trucking experience.
OTA also felt there needed
to be driver qualifications
(there were none in
the original proposal), especially
given the “swingout”
characteristics of
VOlVO TruCks
Volvo Earns 2014 Greenhouse
Gas Certification for Entire
Class 8 Vehicle Lineup
Volvo Trucks is
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under the firstever
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said Göran Nyberg,
President, Volvo Trucks
14 January 2013
North American Sales and
Marketing. “Environmental
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The EPA and NHTSA
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For further information,
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Borgna, Volvo Trucks,
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volvo.com or visit www.
volvotrucks.us.com. V
the proposed trailer and
the fact a shorter tractor
would be needed to fit
within the current envelope.
Under the revised
conditions, carriers will be
required to provide appropriate
orientation to drivers
and the driver must
have a minimum of five
years provable tractortrailer
driving experience.
As well, OTA felt that
at least during the trial
the permits needed to
prescribe specific origins
and destinations. Under
the revised conditions,
carriers must inform MTO
in advance of the origindestination
of locations at
which they intend to operate
the extended trailers
and cannot simply load
and operate the trailers
spontaneously, without
notifying MTO.
From both from a safety
perspective and in consideration
that the in-
Walmart SuperCube
dustry is already heavily
invested in 53 foot trailers,
OTA had also argued
the MTO should adhere
to a multi-year gradual
phase-in of the number
of operators and permits
available – again along
the lines of the current
Ontario LCV program. The
revised permit conditions
state, “based on the results
of the (trial) evalua-
tion, MTO will determine
whether to and how to
proceed with a measured
roll-out of extended semitrailer
operations.”
According to Bradley, “it
is clear that what we are
now talking about is a very
small, tightly controlled
trial of a specific trailer
design, not a wide open
roll-out of a new, longer
trailer standard.” V