MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada is the latest transport group to weigh in on the controversial speed limiter proposal currently before the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Its answer? No thanks.

The group of private fleets joins owner-operator groups in both Canada and the U.S. in voicing their opposition to the plan, which — designed by the Ontario Trucking Association — would require that all truckers in Ontario activate speed limiters to cap speeds at 105 km/h.

The OTA — which says all other provincial for-hire associations except in Quebec support the proposal — is expecting the MTO to give their verdict in the next few weeks. The association says it wants the rule to be implemented across North America.

But it’s not just independent truckers who are opposed to a speed limiter mandate at this time. Although the PMTC applauds the OTA’s primary objective of the proposal — ensuring that trucks adhere to the laws governing speed — the group’s board of directors voted not to support it without further information.

One reason why PMTC won’t support governors is that
excessive truck speed isn’t an endemic problem in Ontario

Despite the best efforts of many Ontario carriers — private and for-hire — to voluntarily cap speeds, the PMTC recognizes that there is an element of the trucking industry that disregards the law. However, the association concluded that no evidence suggests speeding by trucks is a problem, and in fact available data hints that the exact opposite is true — that trucks on average are pulled over less often than other vehicles for speeding offences.

“What we believe is lacking in the proposal, is any definitive proof that truck speeding is a major issue in Ontario,” PMTC president Bruce Richards wrote in a newsletter to members. “In fact, in the OTA’s own words ‘trucks are the least likely vehicles to be speeding on Ontario’s highways.'”

Following a request from the PMTC, the MTO advised that it is unable to quantify the issue of speeding trucks, PMTC states. The association adds that statistics for 2003 indicate that some 20,600 class ‘A’ drivers received speeding tickets compared with some 587,000 such tickets for class G (passenger car) licence holders. Of those class A convictions, 60 percent were for speeding at the lower end of the scale — only up to 15 km/h over the limit.

Further, the Ministry is unable to determine whether those truckers who were ticketed were behind the wheel of a truck or their own family car at the time of the infraction — indicating that a portion of them could have been pulled over while off the job.

“We are not cavalier about speeding trucks,” Richards stresses. “Of course they represent a danger. But responsible carriers have established speed policies for their fleets and are already monitoring the speeds of their trucks. So if it is the few ‘bad apples’ scenario, perhaps increased enforcement and penalties could resolve the issue. Until there is proof that truck speeding is a significant, out of control issue, we cannot support a regulation that would require speed limiters for all trucks.”

That is essentially what owner-operator groups like the Ottawa-based Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada and the 130,000 trucker-strong Owner-Operator and Independent Drivers Association in Missouri has been saying since OTA unveiled its idea.

In their own reports submitted to MTO, OBAC and OOIDA stated that there are more appropriate ways for government to serve the public good in its dealings with the trucking industry. Among their recommendations: maintaining a high level of speed enforcement on roads and highways; stepped-up public education on how to share the road with trucks; and mandatory re-testing of all drivers with questionable driving records.

PMTC says, however, it could support speed limiters for chronic offenders, but that would be based on evidentiary proof of a specific problem. The association adds that the mandatory use of speed limiters as proposed will not address speeding in reduced-speed areas such as construction zones or on secondary roads and highways.

“Bill 169 specifically identified speeding in construction zones, as worthy of increased penalties, and it would be valuable to know, over time, whether this has the desired effect,” the PMTC report states. “If higher penalties and increased enforcement deliver positive results in this area, similar action might be considered for dealing with the issue of speeding in general.”

And while one of the OTA’s stated goals to reduce fuel consumption is noble, PMTC says the issue should be a matter for truckers — not the government — to decide. “Other considerations in the proposal such as the potential for reductions in the cost of fuel and maintenance associated with reduced speed are business issues that should be managed by the operators themselves, not by law,” PMTC concludes.