Alberta continues to hold out on speed limiters, hours-of-service

The Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) must have been mildly disappointed last week when their keynote speaker and provincial Transport Minister showed no interest in following the leads of Ontario and Quebec and introducing legislation to mechanically limit truck speeds.
Speaking at the AMTA’s annual convention in Banff, Transport Minister Luke Ouellette told the gathering “I know there are economic and environmental reasons for considering mandatory speed limiters, but I also know it would be very difficult to enforce.”
The AMTA, like its sister organizations across Canada and its parent group, the Canadian Trucking Alliance, supports the mandatory use of speed limiters. But if ever there was a province that would stand in the way of national harmonization, it’s Alberta. Alberta has always prided itself on doing things its own way – it’s part of the province’s charm – but it can also prove frustrating when national harmonization is sought by the trucking industry.
A case in point is the so-called ‘national’ hours-of-service regulations, which still have not been adopted in Alberta. On this subject, Ouellette said the province is continuing to seek input from stakeholders. Well, the province had years to seek input from stakeholders – this is a process that should have concluded long ago.
While many of our readers will find Ouellette’s comments on speed limiters and hours-of-service refreshing, the fact remains that harmonization of regulations across Canada would benefit the industry at large.
Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but it would be nice if the Transport Ministers of each province would take the time to sit down together and reach a consensus on at least the most fundamental regulations that govern our industry.

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James Menzies is editorial director of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 24 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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