As previously reported by OTA, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has been working on a game plan in cooperation with driver, shipper, load broker, equipment supplier and carrier groups to address the decades-old challenges of weight compliance in the aggregate and excavation sectors.
At a town hall meeting today in Mississauga, Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca, and staff reinforced MTO’s commitment to return enforcement to the sector by the fall of 2018. The plan involves continued cooperation with all stakeholders on a multi-phased project built on facts, data and making evidence-based decisions to hold all parties in the supply chain accountable (including loaders, shippers and suppliers).
Aspects of the plan include:
- The development of a vehicle database to accurately determine gross and axle weight limits for all vehicles in this sector (currently in its pilot phase);
- A targeted approach to determine compliance and accountability for loading at excavation sites under MTO contract, and;
- A focused review of the Ministry’s Safe, Productive and Infrastructure Friendly Vehicles (SPIF) regulations to determine if the vehicle configurations and loading characteristics in this sector require further regulatory refinement.
“Considering all of the issues at play, which have gone unresolved for years, the Ministry is taking the right approach and will allow everyone sufficient time to take a step back, look in the mirror and refocus,” said Geoff Wood, OTA’s Vice President, Operations and Safety. “Fairness and accountability are key so that everyone in the trucking industry, in all sectors, can be held to the same standards.”
MTO has been clear from the start these solutions will maintain safe roads, protect the infrastructure, hold all parties in the supply chain accountable and allow for a strong, sustainable trucking industry that supports the Ontario economy.
OTA will continue to keep the membership updated as this issue develops. OTA members with questions can email operations&[email protected]
