QUEBEC CITY, Que. – Of 14 recommendations announced by the Government-Industry Consultation Committee on Heavy-Vehicle Safety in August 1999, several initiatives are becoming a reality.

Besides the new highway inspectors branch, the Quebec Trucking Association’s proposed team of truckers/ambassadors, the harmonization of weights and dimensions with Ontario and a new blind spot campaign, other projects of note include a pilot project for electronic logbooks. There is also a pilot project involving new highway signs on the South Shore – at the intersections of highways 10, 15 and 20; 20 and 25; 20 and 30; and 10 and 30 – to warn truckers of dangerously sharp curves. The results of this study will determine whether these warning signs will be more widely installed by Transports Quebec.

Bill 135, intended to encourage dialogue between the major stakeholders in the industry, was announced in June. But according to Daniel Brulotte, president of the Association Professionelle des Chauffers de Camion du Quebec, the process of choosing an association to represent all Quebec owner/operators has bogged down, as the Commission des Transports struggles to prepare a valid list of “freight movers” (defined as a Quebec-registered owner and or O/O of a single tractor). They will be asked to vote on whether membership in an association should be mandatory for all freight movers.

A bill that would allow the introduction of photo radar is nowhere in sight. “The industry has big concerns about this,” says Brulotte. “Until they can answer our questions, we are going to oppose a bill that will go this way.”

The committee said in June that the 14 recommendations, including ones on dealing with fatigue, speeding and simulating vehicle handling characteristics, should be in place by the end of the year. n