TORONTO, Ont. — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have harmonized their requirements for long combination vehicles (LCVs).

Harmonizing these rules will now allow carriers to transport goods more easily and efficiently across the four provinces while reducing emissions and lowering shipping costs.

LCVs are made up of a single tractor pulling two full-length trailers, effectively replacing two tractor-trailers. They are best suited for freight that is light and bulky, weigh no more than standard tractor-trailers and do less damage to transportation infrastructure. Harmonizing the requirements allows for the free movement of LCVs across these provinces, providing both economic and environmental benefits.

“The benefits for Ontario are clear: this agreement will help our economy, reduce congestion and fuel consumption, and lower GHG emissions – all while improving road safety. We are removing barriers so that goods can be transported more easily and safely between all of our provinces,” said Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation.

According to the Ontario Trucking Association, the Ontario LCV program conditions were a leading contributor to this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Specifically, the MoU covers off 10 key items related to LCV operations and establishes the minimum set of requirements carriers must meet to operate LCVs in all four eastern provinces.  These include:

Carrier eligibility (e.g. experience, insurance coverage and safety rating); driver qualifications and training; operational restrictions (e.g. 90 km/h speed limit); rear signage requirements; special equipment requirements (e.g. ESC for tractors); overall Length Limits (40 metres); exclusions from overall width measurements (to bring in line with National Weights and Dimensions MoU for all vehicles); exclusion from overall length of semi-trailer and effective rear overhang measurements (to allow boat tails); allow MoU track width for wide single tires contained in National MoU to apply to semi-trailers in LCV configurations; highlight general provisions for vehicle weights and dimensions as well as harmonization for semi-trailer configurations repositioning converter dollies.

Stephen Laskowski, president of the Ontario Trucking Association added: “This is another example of strong leadership in the area of freight transportation policy shown by the province. The benefits of this tightly controlled program have been increased by this announcement encouraging trucking fleets in all four jurisdictions to maintain the highest standards of safety and encouraging more investment in Ontario by sectors of the economy who utilize this configuration.”

According to the Canada Safety Council reports that LCVs are involved in at least 40 per cent fewer collisions than regular tractor-trailers.

For more information on the harmonization, please click here.