TORONTO, (May 24, 2005) — The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is reviewing the Carrier Safety and the Facility Audit programs, and is proposing to change the way the allowable violation rate on a CVOR is calculated.

The proposed change consists of exchanging the current “adjusted fleet size” formula (which takes into account distance traveled in Ontario vs that travelled in other jurisdictions, number of power units in the operator’s control, and double shifting of units), for a formula that places more emphasis on the distance traveled in Ontario only.

The proposal would base a carrier’s exposure to enforcement on total kilometres travelled in Canada by all its commercial motor vehicles base-plated in Ontario. The actual number of commercial motor vehicles being operated by each carrier would therefore become irrelevant.

In a whitepaper, the MTO admits that its approach of comparing carriers based on similar ranges of adjusted fleet size has been criticized by many carriers. “Given that we must re-calibrate the CVOR threshold model at this time, there is an opportunity to rethink our approach,” it states. “It has been suggested that the level of activity and exposure of the carrier to enforcement is more directly related to its amount of travel within the enforcement catchment area than to the number of commercial motor vehicles being operated within that same area.

“Adopting a new method of calculating violation rates may involve significant system changes. Consideration must also be given to any further changes that may be needed to the system with the possible future addition of U.S. events on the carrier database.”

Additionally, event data (accidents, convictions and inspections) from other provinces and territories will soon be added to each Ontario based carrier’s CVOR. At that time “adjusted fleet size” will have to reflect the added enforcement exposure across Canada and only then should it be reduced by the proportion of kilometres travelled outside Canada, the paper says.

The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, one of many stakeholders participating in the review, says the rule will benefit fleets by giving credit for potential exposure (ie distance traveled) — something the current formula does not do.

The group also believes that the proposed formula is much fairer, although it recognizes that no formula will be seen as addressing every nuance of potential exposure. For example a fleet may spend all of its time on the 400 series highways while a similar sized fleet operates only in and around northern Ontario – both compiling the same annual distance but the one having significantly more exposure to inspections or accidents.

Members of the PMTC or the Ontario Trucking Association can contact those groups for more information. Other carriers can call the MTO’s Carrier Sanctions and Investigation Office at:
1-800-387-7736.