New minister confirms commitment to speed limiters

TORONTO — Ontario’s new transportation minister says speed limiters will remain on the docket.

Jim Bradley — who was named the province’s new transportation minister after Premier Dalton McGuinty shuffled his cabinet last week — indicates that he plans to pick up on the issue where former minister Donna Cansfield left off.

Before last month’s election, Cansfield (who was moved to Natural Resources) promised proponents of speed limiters that, if reelected, her government would introduce legislation requiring engine speed on all trucks entering the province to be capped at 105 km/h.

The MTO said that Bradley would not be available for an interview this week, but a spokesperson did issue the following statement to TodaysTrucking.com on behalf of the minister:

“The government of Ontario is committed to developing a mandatory speed limiter program. MTO staff continues to assess technology, determine implementation options and develop a legislative framework. Once complete, the legislation will be brought to the government for consideration and introduction in the (Legislature).”

It’s unknown at what pace this new MTO staff plans to move the speed limiter proposal, nor could Todaystrucking.com ask the minister at this point whether he would consider waiting until federal transport authorities finished their own analysis of speed limiters before he tables legislation at Queen’s Park — something his predecessor didn’t seem willing to do.

Transport Canada recently authored a discussion paper for the Council of Transport Ministers, which looked at the impact of the technology on traffic speeds for trucks and road users, environmental issues, trade issues and just-in-time freight, and experiences with the technology in the EU and Australia.

While the deputy ministers said there were some benefits to mandatory speed limiters, they concluded the issue was complex and needed to be studied further.