Transport Minister Bradley
Set Speed Limiter on Big Rig at Truck World
(April 18, 2008) -- Ontario Transportation Minister
Jim Bradley and OTA’s David Bradley (no relation) held a demonstration at
Canada’s national truck show, Truck World 2008, of how easy it is
to activate
a speed limiter on a commercial tractor. The demonstration took place on April
17 at the International Centre in Toronto where the three-day show took
place.
"There’s been some uninformed debate about how easy it
is to set a speed limiter," OTA’s David Bradley told the press. "We would
like to briefly demonstrate that to you."
The Minister set the speed limiter on a tractor
displayed by Canadian Kenworth. Cummins Canada technical support manager, Adam
Whitney, guided the Minister as he set the speed limiter to 105 km/h using a
laptop connected to the tractor.
Both Bradley’s then fielded questions from the press. The transportation minister told the press that the bill had been introduced in the Ontario legislature. He also said Quebec passed similar legislation late last year and is expected to co-ordinate implementation with Ontario.
Both Bradley’s then fielded questions from the press. The transportation minister told the press that the bill had been introduced in the Ontario legislature. He also said Quebec passed similar legislation late last year and is expected to co-ordinate implementation with Ontario.
The demonstration was held for the benefit of the
mainstream media and was covered by most major TV networks and many other news
organizations.
It was in March that a bill to mandate
the activation of speed limiters on heavy trucks that operate into, out of and
within the province, at a maximum speed of no more than 105 km/hr was
introduced. This came nearly two and a half years after the Ontario Trucking
Association first proposed the idea of mandating the activation of speed
limiters on heavy trucks.
A speed limiter is an electronic microchip that has
been installed on virtually every new heavy truck engine built since the
mid-1990’s and when set, acts as a “speed governor.” The
activation of speed limiters has been mandated in the European Union for well
over a decade and, according to OTA, at least half of the trucks currently
operating on Ontario’s highways have activated their speed limiters.
© 1995 -
2008, Ontario Trucking Association
555 Dixon Road, Toronto, Ontario
M9W
1H8
Tel: (416) 249-7401 | Fax: (416) 245-6152
Email:
info@ontruck.org