TORONTO, (May 9, 2005) — The Ontario Trucking Association is making itself heard as the province of Ontario launches a review of the Commercial Vehicle Operators Registration (CVOR).

The OTA — led by Vice-President Barrie Montague — has already met with Ministry of Transportation staff to identify problems with the present system and to discuss a work plan for a review program — dubbed as the Carrier Safety Program Modernization and Facility Audit Modernization.

The MTO has requested that recommendations for changes be made no later than September 1, 2005 — an ambitious target, says the OTA.

The work plan will cover such issues as: how to determine a carrier’s size for the purpose of calculating safety performance; what events should be included on a CVOR record; how those events should be evaluated; what should be regarded as the threshold for less than satisfactory performance; and how to determine a safety rating.

The OTA adds that all parallel activity of the facility audit process will also be examined, including: how carriers are selected for audit, how the various components of the audit are evaluated, and how carrier’s safety practices could be incorporated in the audit.