OTTAWA, (Jan. 3, 2005) — New cargo securement rules drafted by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators went into effect this past weekend.

These new nation-wide regulations — which mirror the North American Cargo Securement Standard that has been in the U.S. since January 2004 — apply to all vehicles with gross vehicle weight, gross-vehicle weight rating, or gross combination weight rating of more than 4,500 kg.

Alberta and Quebec announced late last year they will delay implimentation of the regs-Quebec until March, and Alberta likely no earlier than in February. The provinces will have an educational period in effect until July 2005, at which times violations would be enforced through fines. Violations that pose a clear and present safety risk are enforceable immediately, however.

The rules mean truckers must follow a new set of tie-down standards. Cargo must be immobilized or secured so that it can’t: leak; spill; blow; fall from the vehicle; fall through the vehicle; or otherwise become dislodged, shift upon or within the vehicle so that the vehicle’s stability or maneuverability is affected.

Anybody who works in securement must also know not only how to secure a load, but also be able to explain why it is secured in a specific way. These people will be expected to use only securement devices that have a known working load limit and are in workable condition. All tie-down points must also have a working load limit as well.

See the weekly feature at TodaysTrucking.com for more detailed information about the rules. (www.todaystrucking.com/featuresdisp.cfm?ID=1)