YAMASKA, Que. — He may be one. But an owner-operator from La Belle Province is using the Internet to drum up support for his campaign against speed limiter legislation in his own province and neighboring Ontario.

Jean Catudal, of Yamaska, Que. is a full-time trucker and part-time Internet blogger (thetruckingblog.blogspot.com). And he’s just launched an online petition against government-backed speed limiter proposals.

The web-based petition — found at www.gopetition.com/online/13221.html (click on link at the end of this article) — states:

“We, professional drivers, owner-operators and small fleet owners, are operating our trucks in respect of all laws in place for all the jurisdictions we travel in. The activation of the speed limiter must stay a business decision, not a government mandate. Posted speed limits are to be respected by all road users and enforced by police.”

As of this afternoon, about 62 people had signed the petition — mostly drivers from Canada and the U.S.

Ontario Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield and her Quebec counterpart Julie Boulet both announced they would introduce legislation that would require all trucks operating in each province to have their speeds governed at 105 km/h via the truck’s ECM.

The plan was originally drafted by the Ontario Trucking Association, which is campaigning to have speed limiters mandated throughout Canada.

The OTA claims most fleets support the proposal, but many small fleets and owner-operators like Catudal feel the association is simply trying to get the government to regulate the competitive playing field.

On his website, Catudal did praise some of Boulet’s other road safety initiatives like banning handheld cell phones, introducing photo radar and red light cameras, and cracking down on impaired drivers.