CTA wants US/Canada agreement on under-ride guards

Oct. 11, 2004
David Bradley, Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) chief executive officer, says that a recent announcement by Canada to add trailer under-ride guards "will be diluted unless it is adopted concurrently by Canada and the United States.”

David Bradley, Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) chief executive officer, says that a recent announcement by Canada to add trailer under-ride guards "will be diluted unless it is adopted concurrently by Canada and the United States.” Transport Canada has said that the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations will be amended to require new manufacturing standards for the under-ride guards.

The new requirements will apply to newly manufactured trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kilograms or more. Trailers with a low chassis or those with wheels or structure that prevent or limit under-ride will not be affected. Details of the amendments were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on October 6 and will take effect one year later. CTA had argued earlier that Transport Canada should have reached agreement with representatives of the US Department of Transportation upon a common standard and implementation schedule.

“To my knowledge, the United States has made no firm commitment to move forward on under-ride protection in concert with Canada,” Bradley said. “We are concerned by the lack of a North American safety standard and have asked Transport Canada to advise us on the steps the department is taking to foster a harmonized North American approach to under-ride protection.”

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