DIGGING IN

(Photo: John G. Smith)
Dispatches
Ontario Transport Minister Steven Del Duca, and Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau.
Come Together
Canada’s transport ministers find some common ground
Canada’s transportation ministers met
in Toronto in late September, discussing
a broad array of initiatives such as
Electronic Logging Devices, climate
change, and ways to better protect “vulnerable”
road users.
In the wake of a call from the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities,
for example, Transport Canada is now
establishing a task force to study measures
such as side guards, cameras and
other devices that could help to protect
pedestrians and cyclists around trucks.
“Some municipalities have on their own
implemented side guards, but we want to
look at possibly other technologies that
would help, and to make a decision about
where it’s appropriate,” Garneau said,
responding to a question from Today’s
Trucking. “It may be something that
remains at the municipality level. It may
be something that goes beyond.”
Garneau added that Canada is also
considering a “similar approach” to the
pending U.S. mandate for Electronic
Logging Devices. (“We plan to put something
forward in 2017 on that subject.”)
Another task force is being created to
find ways to harmonize truck-related
regulations “whenever possible,” the
minister added. Autonomous vehicles
and drug-impaired and distracted driving
were also on the agenda.
“A lot of the new technological innovation
and disruptive change [is] occurring
within the transportation sector,” said
Ontario Transportation Minister Steven
Del Duca, co-chairman of the event. The
goal is to ensure governments can be
“nimble and to be responsive, whether
we’re talking about climate change,
whether we’re talking about automated
connected vehicles, whether we’re talking
about ensuring that we continue to keep
up with some of the other road safety
challenges,” he added.
“As the transportation system evolves
and adapts, we need to better anticipate
and prepare for the changes to come,”
said Garneau. “A long-term agenda for
transportation in Canada will position
the system to support economic growth,
create jobs, promote a healthier
environment, and strengthen Canada’s
middle class and competitiveness in
global markets.” TT
COMING
CHANGES
Two federal announcements
came quickly in the days
following the meeting:
Electronic Stability Controls
Transport Canada is looking to mandate
Electronic Stability Controls on three-axle
tractors with Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings
above 11,793 kilograms. The rule change,
officially published in Canada Gazette Part I,
would be effective in August 2017, and
harmonizes with a U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration rule that was
introduced in 2015.
There are an estimated 660 truck rollovers
in Canada every year, the Canadian
Trucking Alliance (CTA) reports. And while
they represent less than 5% of all truck
collisions, the rollovers present a significant
threat of injuries to truck drivers and
other motorists, and can shut down
highways, it says.
The U.S. National Highway Transportation
Safety Administration estimates that
Electronic Stability Controls are 40-56%
effective in reducing rollover incidents. In
2012, the American Transportation Research
Institute determined the systems were 75%
more effective at avoiding jackknifes.
The rules apply to new equipment
only, and will extend to other tractor
weights by August 2019.
Longer wheelbases
Amendments to the federal Memorandum
of Understanding that governs weights
and dimensions will see the maximum
tractor wheelbase increase to 7.2 meters
from 6.2 meters for tractors pulling semitrailers.
Tractors pulling B-trains will see
allowable wheelbases increase to 6.8
meters from 6.2 meters.
The move is to allow extra space for
emissions-related equipment and improve
driver comfort, a spokeswoman for
Transport Canada said.
Provinces and territories now begin the
process of introducing the changes to their
respective regulations. TT
14 TODAY’S TRUCKING