TORONTO — It will now be up to Mark Seymour to carry the torch on speed limiters, EOBRS, incentives for environmentally friendly technology, and other high-profile OTA lobbying campaigns.

The Prescott, Ont.-based CEO of Kriska Transportation has been elected chairman of the Ontario Trucking Association for a two-year term. He has served for a number of years on the OTA board and executive committee and is also on the executive committee of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

One of the key architects of OTA’s policy to seek the mandatory activation of speed limiters, the new chairman says he’s pleased with the momentum and progress on the issue and that its implementation in Ontario will be a priority of his chairmanship.

“It’s remarkable how far the issue has progressed since OTA unveiled it in November 2005,” he says. “What started as an Ontario initiative under Scott Smith’s (past OTA chairman and CEO of JD Smith & Sons) leadership now has support from industry across North America. I feel confident we will get the job done.”

The OTA is urging the provincial government to mandate speed limiters set at 105 km/h on all trucks in the province, and eventually, the country. A bill proposing such legislation passed second reading in the Legislature this year and awaits committee review. In the U.S., the American trucking Associations has recently said it support a similar rule for truckers south of the border.

OTA’s speed limiter campaign could go into overdrive with
one of the plan’s most passionate proponents at the helm

“At Kriska we have governed the speed of our company vehicles since the early 1990’s. During that time our company grew from about 35 power units to over 400 today,” he says. “I don’t buy the argument that limiting the speeds of your trucks will impact negatively on a company’s ability to provide service.”

But, Seymour says, his term will be about more than speed limiters; he also wants to see the OTA membership continue to grow.

Seymour started at Kriska, then owned by his late father, Ken, in 1983 as a driver. He later worked as a mechanic, service supervisor, dispatcher, operations manager and VP sales. He became president in 1995. “Before I took over, the company was not involved in OTA. Our management thought we could do it ourselves and OTA was just a club for the big boys from Toronto. That could not be farther from the truth and I am living proof of that,” he said.

Meanwhile, the OTA has announced its Board of Directors for the term 2006-08, comprising 78 carriers and three representatives of the association’s Allied Trades Division.

Besides the election of Seymour, Julie Tanguay, president of LE Walker Transport Ltd., of St. Thomas becomes vice-chair. Brian Taylor, president of Liberty Line-Haul of Ayr, Ont. takes over as secretary-treasurer. Other new members of the OTA Executive Committee are: Scott Tilley of the Tandet Group; Gary King, TST Solutions and Evan MacKinnon, MacKinnon Transport and former chairman of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

Four of the new board members, include Gord Smith of Manitoulin Transport; Michael Anderson of Don Anderson Haulage, Wendell Erb of Erb Transport, Todd Connors of AmeriTruck Freight Services and Darcy Hammond, are second generation trucking executives moving into seats once held by their fathers.