OTTAWA — Two new cargo securement rules kicked in on Jan. 1, but truckers will be given a 12-month educational period before official enforcement begins.

The new rules require the use of tiedowns marked with a Working Load Limit, and the requirement to use automatic tiedown tensioning devices for securement of logs loaded crosswise.

The National Safety Code Standard 10 particularly states: “On and after January 1, 2010, a person shall not use a tiedown or a component of a tiedown to secure cargo to a vehicle unless it is marked by the manufacturer with respect to its working load limit.”

The provision to require the strength, or working load limit, of tiedowns to be provided by the manufacturer and marked on the tiedown assembly was developed with industry stakeholders during preparation of the North American Cargo Securement Standard from 1994 to 1999.

NSC Standard 10 was approved by the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety in September 2004, and was implemented by Canadian provinces and territories by mid-2005.

Implementation of the requirement to use tiedowns which are rated and marked with a Working Load Limit will be phased in over a 12 month period ending on Dec. 31. Throughout 2010, verbal direction and/or written warnings will be issued to raise awareness of the requirement to use rated and marked tiedowns. During the transition period however, use of unrated/unmarked tiedowns will not preclude issuance of a CVSA decal.

During the transition period, violations will be recorded in situations where improper or inadequate use of the required minimum number of tiedowns (either marked or unmarked) for securement of cargo poses a safety risk.

Using a tiedown or a component of a tiedown not marked by the manufacturer with respect to its Working Load Limit will not result in out-of-service unless a significant safety risk is created.

During this period unmarked tiedowns will continue to be assigned default Working Load Limits from the tables which appear in NSC Standard 10. Those default values for Working Load Limits will be eliminated from NSC Standard 10 on January 1, 2011, when full compliance begins.