An agreement is now in place between Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to harmonize requirements for long combination vehicles (LCVs). The move will allow intra-provincial carriers to transport goods more easily and efficiently across the four provinces while reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
The Ontario LCV program conditions were a leading contributor to this MoU. Specifically, the MoU covers off 10 key items related to LCV operations and establishes the minimum set of requirements carriers must meet to operate LCVs in all four eastern provinces. These include:
Carrier eligibility (e.g. experience, insurance coverage and safety rating); driver qualifications and training; operational restrictions (e.g. 90 km/h speed limit); rear signage requirements; special equipment requirements (e.g. ESC for tractors); overall Length Limits (40 metres); exclusions from overall width measurements (to bring in line with National Weights and Dimensions MoU for all vehicles); exclusion from overall length of semi-trailer and effective rear overhang measurements (to allow boat tails); allow MoU track width for wide single tires contained in National MoU to apply to semi-trailers in LCV configurations; highlight general provisions for vehicle weights and dimensions as well as harmonization for semi-trailer configurations repositioning converter dollies.
“The benefits for Ontario are clear – increased economic benefits, reduced congestion, fuel consumption and lower GHG emissions, all while improving road safety. Removing barriers so goods are transported more easily and safely between our provinces is a ‘win’ for all of us,” added Steven Del Duca, Ontario Minister of Transportation.
Since the inception of the Ontario LCV Program in August 2009, carriers have safely completed over 220,000 trips covering 70,000,000 km.
For more information, contact operations&safety@184.107.41.74