MTO TO USE RADAR FOR SPEED LIMITER ENFORCEMENT

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The other day on Twitter I noticed Ontario professional driver Scott Mooney (aka @OntarioTrucker) discussing that the Ministry of Transportation was installing radar into its enforcement vehicles. I looked into it and found that he was correct. MTO spokesman Ajay Woozageer confirmed for me that the MTO was installing radar into its enforcement vehicles, as an additional way to enforce the province’s speed limiter law.

Till now, enforcement of the 105 rule required an MTO officer to hook an electronic reader into the engine’s ECU to determine whether or not the speed limiter had been activated at 105 km/h or slower. However, you may recall there’s a provision in the legislation that allows an enforcement officer to presume the speed limiter is not active if a commercial vehicle is observed travelling faster than 115 km/h.

That works great for cops. But one problem; MTO cars have not been equipped with radar, so how could they prove any wrongdoing? Well soon, just like the police, they’ll be able to use radar to determine a commercial vehicle’s speed and document it as evidence. They’ll also be able to play a bigger role in enforcing moving violations, or “rules of the road,” as Ajay dubbed them, such as speeding.

Will there be a period of educational enforcement, I asked, so that truckers aren’t caught completely off-guard? Nope. Ajay said officers will be enforcing existing rules – not new ones – so no educational period is required. Fair. I wouldn’t get bent out of shape about the MTO adding radar to their arsenal. Seems to me it’ll be the speeders and scofflaws that’ll suffer as a result of this change. However, I’m sure we’ll hear plenty of griping in 2014 as enforcement officers put their new tools to use.

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  • I have a much simpler solution. Simply implement a program where you issue a sticker to be put onto the truck so that enforcement officers can visually see if you are in the “Program”. If you cross a scale and you don’t have the sticker in place then the Scale staff can pull the truck in around back and do their check and issue a citation if necessary.
    If you cross the scale and you have a sticker and if the Scale staff checks to see if you actually have set your limiter and it isn’t set, then the fine should be 4 times the regular fine and it goes against both the driver’s and company CVOR. (“Ouch”) Make it hurt. The news will get out quickly and every trucker in the province will be keeping an eye out for the “cheaters” and Lord knows that there are thousands of them out there. Level the playing field. I have a fleet of 20 trucks and I constantly check to see what the speeds are set at just to make sure my drivers are not paying anyone to increase the parameters without my consent. The MTO should also post a list of all the phone #s of all the scales in Ontario (I have every phone number to every scale in my blackberry so that list does exits) so that the law abiding truckers out there can report the cheaters to the nearest scale when the cheater pass them at 115 km/hr. Instead the MTO is taking the more expensive route and purchasing radar equipment and adding to court time and bleeding the government resources dry. How are you going to catch the cheaters if they are not speeding at the very moment the MTO is pointing the radar at them? Sounds like a silly idea at best. What is next side arms for the officers? Give us all a break. Less government, smarter government. Don’t hold your breath.

  • With all the cut backs I hope they put some of the equipment to use. The scales are not open very often and you never see them on the road. I have been driving truck around this province for 25 years and have had 2 inspections and both inspector’s where not trained near like they should be the US guys would put them to shame (plenty of inspection’s there)50% of the trucks don’t have the limiters set now and the odds are better at winning the lottery than getting caught driving junk here.

  • MTO Enforcement vehicles?? What enforcement vehicles. The enforcement of the 105 limiter is a joke. I travel the 401, 402 corridor all the time in a 105 limited vehicle and am passed by trucks every singe time I have traveled on these roads. Mostly of course by owner/operators, both long haul,sleeper equipped and local, day cab. The rate of inspections by MTO inspectors is almost laughable. They open the scale, get between 6 and 10 trucks in the queue and then turn off the open light to process those trucks. Meanwhile about 100 or more trucks blow by the scale. Also when the scales are open the sideroads are not patrolled for trucks bypassing the scale. And even those trucks that are checked at the scale only a minute few are actually inspected. Since the rule has been in effect I have only had my truck checked for compliance of the limiter law twice, and in fact even though I make 2 round trips per week between Sarnia and Brantford during normal working hours I have only been in the queue maybe 6 or 7 times since the limiter rule has been enforced. To even see a patrol vehicle is a rarity. In the US I am passed by Ontario and Quebec trucks just as often as when I am in Ontario, of course I am also passed by just about every truck except those of course which are in compliance.