bus - Coach USA merger

Ontario - Truck and Bus Safety Initiatives

Effective February 2, 1998, Ontario will become the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce truck and bus impoundment for vehicles with critical defects. Other truck and bus initiatives, include:

a introduced a "zero tolerance" enforcement policy;

made wheel separations an absolute liability offence;

increased commercial vehicle fines to a maximum of $20,000 - the highest in North America;

continuing to work with the Insurance Bureau of Canada to assist enforcement officers and the OPP in verifying insurance slips on the spot;

gave the Registrar of Motor Vehicles the authority to take faster action against companies, including the refusal to issue a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration due to a poor safety record;

a revising the safety fitness tests for new entrants into the truck and bus industry;

developed new performance-based facility audit program that will provide an ongoing snapshot of how well - or how poorly - a company is doing on the safety front;

resumed axle weight enforcement on aggregate haulers;

increased responsibility on shippers to ensure that a truck's axle$ are not overloaded or that it doesn't exceed the total allowable vehicle weight;

providing mandatory training and certification for wheel installers and drivers who adjust their own air brakes;

expanded cross-training of MTO, municipal police and OPP enforcement officers so that those investigating collisions are knowledgeable about mechanical components and commercial vehicle driver requirements; and

expanding mobile truck inspection units so that unsafe operators cannot escape detection by using bypass routes.

developing a carrier safety rating system that will enable the users of transportation services to make informed business decisions about which carrier they will use.

Ontario
News Release Communique'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 1998

Ministry of Transportation
Ministbre des Transports

Industry education and warning period for trucks and buses starts today

TORONTO - Trucks and buses traveling on Ontario highways have one month to get in shape or they'll be off our roads, said Transportation Minister Tony Clement today.

"Starting today, enforcement officers will be handing out warnings to commercial vehicle owners and operators of seriously defective vehicles as part of an education period." said Clement. "if this same vehicle were to be stopped next month however, it would be taken to a truck impoundment yard for 15 days."

Effective February 2, 1998, any truck or bus found with a serious critical defect such as faulty brakes or problems with its suspension or tires will be taken to an impoundment yard for 15 days. If that same vehicle is caught again within a two-year period with a critical defect. the impoundment period extends to 30 days. The impoundment period goes to 60 days for a truck or bus caught for a third. or subsequent, critical defect. All trucks and buses found to be critically defective will be impounded, regardless of their home base.

The province's first impound facility will be located near the Oakville South, Oakville North and Trafalgar North truck inspection stations. Starting next month, these stations will begin impounding critically defective trucks and buses. By the end of March, 1998, 10 of the province's 46 truck inspection stations will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including Whitby, Lancaster (near Cornwall), Wasi North and South (near North Bay), Putnam North and South (near London), and Fruitland (near Grimsby). These sites were selected because they are located on high-volume, provincial trucking routes - about 42 per cent of all commercial vehicles travel by one of these checkpoints - and some capture significant national and international traffic.

"Not only do these trucks pose a safety hazard, but they can potentially shut down an economic corridor if they break down. We want to make Ontario roads safer. We're not after the safe operators - only those who don't look after their vehicle or fleet," said Clement. " The best way to avoid impoundment is for owners and operators of commercial vehicles to take some responsibility for their upkeep."

Media contacts:

Dan Schultz
Minister's Office
Tel: (416) 327-9200
Fax: (416) 327-9188

Kathy Dermott
Corporate Policy & Communications
Tel : (416) 235-4102
Fax: (416) 235-4841

Ministry of Transportation web site at: http://www-mto-gov.on.ca/english