BURLINGTON, Ont. — Mainstream newspapers across Ontario continue to wade into the controversial debate about the OTA’s recent proposal to mandate speed limiters on all trucks operating in the province. The Burlington Post recently joined the fray, publishing this editorial:

A proposal was put forth last month that would see trucks prevented from travelling faster than 105 kilometres an hour on Ontario roadways. What was most surprising about the proposal was that it came from the Ontario Trucking Association.

“We think it’s the right thing to do,” said OTA president David Bradley, who says his members are concerned about increased speeds on the 400-series highways and poor lane discipline by some truckers.

Bradley, who said the move would save fuel and reduce emissions, added truckers should not be put under pressure to “break the law in order to meet their time schedule.”

While we believe the average motorist would welcome such a plan, independent truckers argue that the differential in speeding is dangerous — not speeding itself.

“If everyone was slowing down, that would make a difference; going slower is only safe if everyone is going slower,” said Joanne Ritchie, executive director of the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada which represents about 40,000 independent truckers.

It seems strange to us that Ritchie would oppose something that appears to be little more than a safety measure aimed at preventing the loss of lives of all who travel our terribly congested roadways.

Under the proposal, any truck in Ontario or entering Ontario would have to engage the engine governor which is already built into engines less than 10 years old. The governor would prevent the truck from exceeding 105 km/h.

The fact remains many trucking firms already use the governor and we fail to see how getting multi-ton vehicles to keep closer to the speed limit is a bad thing.

Yes, there are bad truckers who are a danger on the road, but they do not make up the majority of bad drivers. This proposal would help keep those bad truckers in check.