Four-Part Harmony

The provincial governments in Atlantic Canada are poised to do something this summer that no other Canadian jurisdictions have managed to do-adopt completely uniform weight and dimension regulations for heavy trucks.

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland have agreed to a set of standards that are expected to come into force on July 1:

– Tandem axles will be limited to 18,000 kilograms, with wide-spread tandems being limited to single-axle weights starting in 2010. Wide spread, in Canadian terms, means over 1.85 metres (73 inches). This would effectively ban the 10-foot spreads seen on flatdeck trailers from the United States, where they are treated as two singles under the U.S. bridge formula.

– Tridems will be held to 21,000 kg for a narrow spread, 24,000 kg for a medium spread (10 feet), and 26,000 kg for a wide spread (12 feet). Atlantic Canada will also allow, as Quebec does, the “equivalent to a tridem” axle-three equally spaced axles with the lead being a lift, as long as the suspension distributes the weight uniformly. This configuration would be carrying the same 26,000-kg weight limit as a tridem. Quebec’s tridem equivalent with a lift has a 25,000-kg limit, a 1000-kg penalty.

– Steering axles on straight trucks will be allowed up to 9100 kg with appropriate tires and axle ratings. In the calculation of allowable gross weights, the front axle will only count for 8000 kg. This accounts for trucks with fixed rigging that places extra weight on the steer axle-a crane, for example-but offers no incentive for other carriers to go steer-heavy in order to get more payload. Also, the Atlantic regulations will allow a tandem-steer truck with 16,000 kg on the steer axle.

– Quad-axle semitrailers are not included in the agreement. Banned elsewhere in Atlantic Canada, quads are allowed in New Brunswick by permit and are used mostly by Quebec-based truck loggers operating in the Northwest corner of the province.

– Vehicle height, width, and length limits will be identical to national standards outlined in 1988 by the Roads and Transportation Association of Canada (RTAC), except that A-trains will be allowed a box length of 20 metres instead of 18.5 metres (“box length” is the distance from the front of the first trailer to the back of the second). This could potentially increase the length of pup trailers used in an A-train, but, since A-trains are rare in Atlantic Canada, it should have little impact.

All internal dimensions-wheelbase limits, overhangs, kingpin setbacks, and interaxle spacings-will also be identical to the national agreement. This means that the minimum wheelbase on a semitrailer will be 6.25 metres, which in effect eliminates the 23-foot container chassis (used primarily in Nova Scotia) or other short trailers. Operators will have nine years to phase out existing units.

NO TOLERANCES OR TRI-AXLES

One of the most significant changes the new rules will bring is the elimination of tri-axles: a tandem axle plus a lift axle where spacing among the three axles is not uniform. These will be allowed only at tandem axle weights-effectively, that means tri-axles will be phased out over a number of years so existing trailers won’t become immediately obsolete. New Brunswick has regulated the replacement of tri-axles with tridems by 2005, so this eventual ban elsewhere is no big surprise.

Indeed, David Roberts, manager of the Truckers Association of Nova Scotia (TANS), which has government contracts to haul gravel, asphalt, and salt, says as long as his members are given enough time to replace existing tri-axle semitrailers with new ones equipped with tridems, no one will be too upset.

Roberts is more concerned about the elimination of published overweight tolerances, which can amount to as much as a few thousand kilograms without the threat of a fine. Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association general manager Ralph Boyd says his members are supportive, since shippers profit from tolerances the most. “They load you to the legal weight plus the tolerance, but then only pay you for the legal load,” he says.

REGULATION BY REFERENCE

While many of the changes will be similar to the limits specified in the 1988 national agreement, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland plan to introduce these regulations in a unique way.

Each province is proposing to adopt the regulations “by reference.” Instead of writing the details of the allowed weights and dimensions into statute or regulation, each province will simply amend its current legislation to read “legal truck weights and dimensions are as specified under.” and then name the title of the final standard.

This has never been done in Canada in the area of transportation policy.

Adopting the rules by reference is designed to prevent the problems experienced after the national agreement on truck weights and dimensions was reached in 1988. Twelve years later, despite having an agreement that has been honed and amended over time, Canada’s size and weight rules have all the uniformity of a patchwork quilt.

There are two reasons for this. First, the 1988 agreement (as amended) is permissive. It only requires jurisdictions to allow specific vehicle configurations to operate on designated roads.

There is nothing stopping a jurisdiction from allowing bigger, heavier, or different trucks, as Ontario and Quebec do, or from allowing bigger or heavier trucks under permit, as Alberta and Saskatchewan do. For that matter, there is nothing to prevent a province from allowing smaller or lighter trucks on non-designated roads, as Saskatchewan and Manitoba do.

The second reason uniformity has failed are problems associated with 12 jurisdictions signing a deal and then trying to translate the details so it will fit into their own particular regulatory structure. Differences in key technical definitions among the provinces have created inconsistencies. In other cases, one province may have decided to change a number or add a tolerance. Perhaps legal language resulted in different limits.

In light of these problems, other provinces, particularly those in Western Canada, are watching Atlantic Canada. Adopting standards by reference would be a breakthrough in the way jurisdictions ensure the uniform implementation of trucking rules.

Boyd sees the possibility of using regulation by reference to ensure uniformity in many areas-load-security regulations, hours of work, medical standards, safety ratings, and so on. “This,” he says, “is the way of the future.”