HALIFAX, N.S. — The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal in Nova Scotia has announced its three-year transition plan for the removal of weight tolerance.

A, B, and C train doubles; six-axle tractor semi-trailers on B-train routes; and a number of truck and trailer combinations with six, seven or eight axles who previously had their weight reduced from national standards because of regulated tolerance, had the weight restored to proper levels Jan. 1. There is no gross vehicle weight transition for these vehicles.

The maximum weight on All Other Highways was increased from 38,500 kg to 41,500 kg to account for the removal of regulated tolerance. There is no transition for gross vehicle weights greater than 41,500 kg for vehicles on these roads.

Here is an outline of the plan:

From Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2008:
-enforcement officers will be provided with automatic officer discretion of 500 kg per axle with the upper limit dependent on the number of axles on the vehicle or vehicle combination
-heavy front end tractors, model year 2002 and earlier, will continue to be recognized for the extra weight capacity of the steering axle.
-for vehicles and roads that had their weight increased in the regulations, there will be automatic officer discretion of 500 kg on an axle, but there will be no automatic officer discretion for gross vehicle weight. There will be, however, officer discretion on gross vehicle weight to a maximum of 1,500 kg for exceptional circumstances only.

From Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2009:
-enforcement officers will be provided with automatic officer discretion of 500 kg per axle to maximum of 2,000 kg
-heavy front end tractors, model year 2002 and earlier, will continue to be recognized for the extra weight capacity of the steering axle.
-for vehicles and roads that had their weight increased in the regulations, there will be automatic officer discretion of 500 kg on an axle, but there will be no automatic officer discretion for gross vehicle weight. There will be, however, officer discretion on gross vehicle weight to a maximum of 1,500 kg for exceptional circumstances only.

From Jan. 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2010:
-enforcement officers will be provided with automatic officer discretion of 500 kg per axle to maximum of 1,000 kg
-the extra weight capacity of heavy front end tractors, model year 2002 and earlier, will no longer be recognized.
-for vehicles and roads that had their weight increased in the regulations, there will be automatic officer discretion of 500 kg on an axle, but there is no automatic officer discretion for gross vehicle weight. There will be, however, officer discretion on gross vehicle weight to a maximum of 1,500 kg for exceptional circumstances only.

Effective Jan. 1, 2011:
-there will be no automatic officer discretion on any axle weight or any gross vehicle weight. There will be, however, officer discretion of 500 kg per axle or axle group to a maximum of 1,500 kg for exceptional circumstances only.
-at all times there will be no officer discretion above manufacturer’s maximum weight ratings for axles, tires, and all other vehicle components, and for the vehicle itself.

-tractors hauling double trailer combinations will need to be re-registered for the increased maximum gross vehicle weights. Until Service Nova Scotia has made the necessary registration changes drivers will not be penalized for having vehicle permits that do not have the new maximum gross vehicle weights.

Full details and examples of the transition plan can be found at: www.gov.ns.ca/tran/trucking/transitionplan.pdf.