Ontario’s current regulations for the design and operation of heavy trucks have evolved over the past two decades, since 2000, and involved significant consultations with industry.
The regulations, known as SPIF (Safe, Productive and Infrastructure Friendly), ensure trucks are designed to operate safely, allowing them to take advantage of maximum productivity to support the Ontario economy while protecting the province’s investments in road infrastructure.
The Ontario Trucking Association fully supports the Government of Ontario and its commitment and timelines to the SPIF policies.
“For last 20 years, different groups of commercial vehicles were addressed in four separate phases of the program,” said Stephen Laskowski, OTA’s President and CEO. “Grandfather protection was provided for each group of vehicles to allow for them to live out their useful life cycle. Grandfathering for the last phase of vehicles, which was announced in 2011 and includes dump trucks, is equitable in its treatment based on the treatment of all other commercial vehicles.
“All other truck configurations in the province have made or are in the final process of making the transition to SPIF. Trucks that do not meet SPIF standards at the end of grandfathering are required to operate at reduced weights to ensure they remain safe and Ontario’s infrastructure investments are protected. This is the right thing to do for public safety and the protection of our infrastructure investments.”
When fully implemented, SPIF will ensure trucks operating on Ontario roads are designed to the highest safety standards in North America while saving the government over $450 million in additional infrastructure spending.
