OTTAWA — The green light for Canadian jurisdictions to increase weight limits for wide single tires is a development Michelin has been eagerly awaiting.

Michelin has long been advocating the improvement of the new wide base single tires over previous generations of the product and recently Canada’s Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety agreed, acknowledging “that the new wide base single tire designs offer improvements in fuel efficiency, vehicle roll stability and reduced tare weight.”

The council also approved amendments to Canada’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions that redefine the weight limits and track width requirements for new generation wide base single tires.

Michelin is hoping the amendments translate into widespread use of their wide single tire across Canada and has been preparing for the new ruling.

To meet the growing demand across North America, Michelin’s manufacturing facility in Waterville, N.S., began manufacturing MICHELIN X One tires in 2007, joining the company’s Spartanburg, S.C., facility as a producer of the new generation tires.

Michelin gears up for widespread use of the
wide single tire.

The changes, which are scheduled to become effective on July 1, will establish requirements for trucks that are consistent with U.S. regulations.

“In the wake of soaring fuel costs, this news is welcome relief to truckers and fleets operating between the two countries,” said Marc Laferriere, vice-president of marketing, Michelin Americas Truck Tires “Michelin X One tires can improve fuel efficiency by up to 10 percent and allow for significantly larger payloads. This revised MOU offers a boost to fleet profitability and helps control rising transportation costs for the goods each of us buys each day.”

The new rules apply to tires utilized on drive axles with a width of 445 mm or more. The new weight allowances call for loads not to exceed 7,700 kg for single axle vehicles and 15,400 kg for tandem-axle groups. To allow trailers to be safely retrofitted with wide single tires, the minimum track width requirement of 2.5 m has been reduced to 2.3 m for trailers built in 2007 or earlier.

The rules will be in effect for all Canadian jurisdictions, with three exceptions. These pertain to roads in the Northwest Territories, secondary roads in Newfoundland and Labrador, and roads in New Brunswick, depending on their highway classification.