Limiter Law Chips Away At Our Freedoms

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Dear Editor:

Our great country prides itself on equality for all and celebrates the rights and freedoms that our forefathers struggled to lay down as the foundations of Canada. Apparently these privileges do not extend to the trucking community as we are being discriminated against with regards to speed limiters.

In Ontario, the provincial government has recently implemented a law that all trucks must be limited to driving no more than 105 km/h. Now, in theory this would seem like a good law but in practice this law is dangerous.

Ontario roadways are limited to 100 km/h but if you ask truck drivers most of them would say they do not stay in Ontario when delivering their loads; in fact, most of them leave their home province in a matter of hours and are soon put at a disadvantage.

Many other provinces and states have speed limits that exceed the 105 km/h that our trucks are allowed to drive and therefore we are not only put at a disadvantage but are also not able to flow with traffic. After just finishing a trip through the south and midwest US it became clear that this law is ludicrous, especially since it was implemented by government officials who have no experience in truck driving. How can the Ontario government dictate and extend their law to other provinces and states? It appears that the government is not really concerned about our shrinking economy as they are putting in place crazy rules that put the trucking industry at a standstill.

As other provinces and states are increasing their speeds to boost the trucking economy, Ontario is falling backwards and countering this plan by installing speed limiters. The Ontario government certainly has the right to govern their own province and their own speed limits but they have no right to overrule the decisions of other provincial and state governments. It is far too expensive to have speeds re-set in computers when crossing provincial and federal borders.

The current government has no idea of the realities of truck driving and should therefore not presume to know and dictate how truck drivers should work.

They do not realize the depth of knowledge and experience that truck drivers bring to their jobs and do not understand the capacity and impact of the trucking industry on this great province.

Adrian Langenberg Fonthill, Ont.

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Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


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