Toronto, Ontario – Teamsters Canada, representing thousands of truck drivers across Canada, has attacked a new speed limiter legislation passed in Ontario. Similar to a law passed previously in Quebec, the legislation requires that all heavy trucks manufactured since 1996 and weighing more than 26,000 pounds be electronically limited to a maximum of 105 km/h.

Truck owner-operators in Canada and the U.S. said the law limits competition, and is a potential violation of provincial and cross-border trade laws. The limiter, already installed in trucks during manufacturing, needs to be set electronically. Drivers from outside the province must have the regulator set at a dealership or garage, at a cost of between $75 and $150 per occasion, when entering and leaving the province, as most U.S. states have speed limits equivalent to 112 to 120 km/h.

The fine for driving without a regulator is $250 in Ontario and $350 in Quebec.

Robert McAulay, Teamsters Canada national freight and tank haul director, said that the new law is not about safety, but saving fuel costs for trucking companies. “I applaud the efforts made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but other considerations need to be made on environmental issues that don’t affect highway safety for motorists,” he said. “How do you expect to have a safe highway when the Ministry of Transportation is allowing two different speed limits? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the result of trucks being regulated at 105 km/h and cars travelling at 120 km/h will create: a lot of angry tailgating motorists waiting for their chance to pass, which will result in aggressive driving, not to mention the increase in lane changes.”

McAulay also said that if a tractor trailer driver is faced with a critical situation and needs to straighten the rig by accelerating to prevent a jackknife, it will be very difficult to do so safely at the maximum limited speed.