TORONTO — Ontario carriers want their home province to follow its French-language neighbor in implementing “home-grown” environmental measures, which include mandating speed limiters for all trucks.

Ontario Trucking Association President David Bradley called on the provincial government to take action on a number of the recommendations of the Canadian Trucking Alliance recently released in a 14-point action plan for “reducing harmful emissions from trucks” and encouraging fuel-saving technology in the trucking industry.

The Trucking Made-in-Canada Clean Air Act, a 14-point action plan to reduce smog and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the freight transportation sector, contains a number of measures that fall under provincial jurisdiction.

Among them: OTA’s yearlong campaign to mandate speed limiters on all truck engines capped at 105 km/h.

The OTA claims speed limiters would cut GHG emissions by at least 140 kilotonnes a year, “although it is interesting to note that the figure is probably significantly higher,” says OTA, adding the savings from a “climate change” perspective would be the equivalent of taking 18,000 class 8 trucks off the road. The policy would also reduce the equivalent of 36,000 and 40,000 class 8 trucks from a nitrogen oxide (NOx) perspective and particulate matter (PM) standpoint, respectively, CTA claims.

OTA claims speed limiters on trucks
would cut GHGs by 140,000 tonnes

The carrier group says its estimates are based on “factors and data provided by U.S. and Canadian federal agencies.”

Quebec recently agreed to vote on a Plan of Action on Climate, which includes a similar speed limiter policy among its 24 measures.

Out of all the measures recommended in the environmental action plan, the one referring to speed limiters is probably the least complicated to turn into a regulation, says the Quebec Trucking Association’s Marc Cadieux, because it can be done with an amendment to the Quebec Road Safety Code, which is up for reform next fall.

Quebec officials claim bringing in speed limiters would cut GHG savings of 330 kt/year — more than double the OTA’s estimates.

As reported last week when the OTA unveiled its environmental blueprint, the Ontario Trucking Clean Air Act also includes several initiatives that promote fuel-saving devices and technology.

“The Government of Ontario should show leadership in the development of capital cost allowance rates that reward environmental investments,” says OTA. “Given the dramatic emission reductions that can be achieved with the new truck engines, the Province should use the tax system, through the CCA schedule, to encourage the more rapid purchase of the new, more environmentally friendly, 2007 engines.”

OTA also wants decision makers to allow full weight parity between wide-base tires and duals; introduce a 400 lb weight GVW allowance for idling reduction technology placed on Ontario’s trucks; allow flexibility within the provincial truck weights and dimension standards to add non-payload aerodynamic improvements to their equipment; and permit expansion of double-trailer network between Ontario and Quebec.

“OTA is strongly committed to moving forward aggressively on eliminating emissions from our industry, and we hope that the Government of Ontario shares this commitment,” Bradley said in a press release. “The CTA plan raises a number of important initiatives that have both energy conservation and climate change and air quality emission reduction benefits.”