OTTAWA, Ont. – Changes to the Heavy Truck Weight and Dimension Limits for Interprovincial Operations in Canada pave the way for truckers to use wide-base single tires at the same weight limits as duals right across Canada.

The decision was made during the meeting of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety in late January.

“We are grateful for the leadership shown by the First Ministers, Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety and the provincial and territorial government representatives of the Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy for moving forward on this issue so that the trucking industry can take advantage of this progressive equipment technology under the MOU umbrella,” said Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) senior vice-president of policy, Geoff Wood.

The CTA says the next step is for the provinces and territories to amend their regulations to reflect the recent changes, and in the interim, to offer permits to facilitate the movement of single tire-equipped vehicles.

“The outcome of this policy decision which also saw an all-hands-on-deck effort from the provincial trucking associations in the Alliance strikes a good balance between road infrastructure preservation and productivity, safety and environmental considerations. It also levels the playing field with respect to Canadian and U.S. fleets in their tire spec’ing options. The ultimate goal of this effort now and all MoU updates is to have all jurisdictions adopt the MOU changes in their regulations as quickly as individual regulatory/legislative timetables permit,” added Wood.

The MOU can be read here.