Ontario trucker reportedly murdered in Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill. -- An Ontario trucker has been shot to death in a parking lot after delivering a load to Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The driver, Gary Clarke of Courtice, Ont., had just delivered a load in the area and then was visiting his brother Tuesday night when he was approached by a group and asked for money, according to the report. When he said he didn’t have any cash, someone pulled out a gun and shot him in the hip. Clarke was found unresponsive inside his Peterbilt straight truck and died of his injuries, the report says.

A representative of his employer, Aberstar Fast Freight, told the Tribune that Clarke had dropped a load Tuesday night, before the incident.

”It’s a sad day for us here,” said the representative. “He was a gentle individual…He was one of those guys you wish you could clone and have more of.”

The shooting occurred in the Englewood area of Chicago, which is known for its violent crime. The Tribune report can be read here.

View the original article here

OTA offers goods movement strategies to keep Ontario competitive

TORONTO, Ont. -- The Ontario Trucking Association say the “most important thing” the province can do to stay competitive is “implement economic, investment and tax policies that maintain and attract direct investment in the province’s goods production and retail sectors.” The OTA’s comments were made in response to an Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) discussion paper entitled Building Competitiveness: A Proposed Multimodal Goods Movement Strategy for Ontario.

“This is pivotal,” says OTA president David Bradley. “Goods movement is a derived demand industry and we’ve seen a lot of production leave the province in recent years.” At the same time, he says an efficient, productive and reliable goods movement sector “is a magnet for direct investment.”

Among the specific measures the OTA says Ontario should implement are an expansion of the long-combination vehicle (LCV) program; investment in rest stops that can accommodate trucks, particularly in Northern Ontario; skills development and training initiatives (such as mandatory entry-level training and improved licence standards); incentives for investment in sustainable goods movement through environmentally-friendly technologies; and the introduction of smart highways through the introduction of scale by-pass systems. In addition, the association highlighted the need to ensure faster clearance of highway incidents, particularly on the 400-series highways.

While the OTA encouraged Ontario to continue with strategic investment in border infrastructure and connector highways, it also urged the provincial government to work with the federal government to ensure the measures contained in the Perimeter Vision Action Plan are implemented in a timely manner and that the rules governing things like repositioning movements of empty trailers in both Canada and the US are modernized.

In terms of harmonization, OTA said the province needs to work closely with other provinces, but also with neighbouring US states, particularly on weights and dimensions regulations and perhaps even allowing LCVs to cross the border. According to Bradley, “one way to approach this may be to establish a regional freight policy body including MTO, OTA and members of government and industries from majoring US jurisdictions.”

OTA also highlighted the important role of municipalities in enhancing or impeding efficient goods movement, citing the need to look at the Ontario road system as part of a provincial network, informed and modernized approaches to truck routes and roundabouts, streamlining the process for obtaining special load permits, etc.

OTA urged MTO to continue to engage in meaningful consultation with legitimate industry stakeholders and to build up its understanding and knowledge of emerging trends in truck technology in order to better anticipate potential regulatory implications.

“We look forward to continuing to work with MTO on policies that will allow Ontario’s goods movement sector to excel,” said Bradley. “We are seeking active government partners to develop environmental, operational and financial policies and programs that offer benefits for the goods movement sector and the economy as a whole.”

View the original article here

Three Ontario cities listed among top five speed trap locations in N.A.

WAUNAKEE, Wis. -- A recent public poll conducted by the National Motorists Association (NMA) has found that three Ontario cities are among the worst speed trap locations across the US and Canada. Windsor, Hamilton, and Mississauga rank third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the Worst Speed Trap Cities category for cities with populations greater than 50,000. Flower Mound, Texas and Livonia, Mich. Ranked number one and two in the same category.

Not surprisingly, Ontario took the top spot in the Worst Speed Trap States and Provinces category, with Nova Scotia coming in second. The province faring best with voters was Quebec, coming in 52nd place out of 53 states and provinces.

The NMA analyzed the most recent five years of data from its Web site, The National Speed Trap Exchange, which lists tens of thousands of chronic speed traps in the US and Canada and includes descriptive commentary about each listing.

To develop the rankings, the NMA calculated the total number of affirmative votes across speed traps in a given community and then indexed the total to the community’s population size.

For its part, the NMA condemned speed traps as typically combining “arbitrarily low speed limits with heavy traffic enforcement designed to generate ticket revenue. While the intent may be to modify driver behaviour long-term, that is rarely the result. Speed traps keep springing up in the same locations, the issuance of tickets flows unabated, and there is no material effect on traffic safety. That is why the NMA advocates for increased speed limits in chronic speed trap areas supported by traffic studies and proven engineering principles.”

To see the full list of rankings, visit here.

View the original article here

Ontario to appeal speed limiter ruling

TORONTO, Ont. -- The province of Ontario will appeal a recent Justice of the Peace ruling that the province’s speed limiter law is unconstitutional, the Canadian Press reports.

Reports say the province will argue commercial truck drivers can drive with “due care” at speeds of 105 km/h or less.

It will also contend that the Justice of the Peace in the Gene Michaud case relied on the testimony of witnesses who were not qualified as experts.

More information is available here.

View the original article here

Fairness at last, for senior drivers in Ontario?

TORONTO, Ont. -- The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) says it's encouraged by comments from Ontario Transport Minister Bob Chiarelli that acknowledge the licence renewal process for senior drivers in Ontario could be less onerous.

Chiarelli said that "commercial driver licence renewal can be made less onerous for senior drivers (drivers 65 years of age and older) without compromising safety" and has asked his parliamentary assistant Vic Dhillon to determine what amendments to the renewal requirements are needed and to develop a plan to implement them, according to the OTA.

"The minister is sending the signal that the government is willing to make some changes and given the discussions we have had with the ministry to date, we don't think we are very far apart in terms of what should and can be done," said OTA president David Bradley. "We are eager to work with Mr. Dhillon early in the New Year to help establish the policy. We recognize there will be a regulatory process that has to be followed and that implementation will require system changes and the like, but we hope that by this time next year senior truck drivers in Ontario will be subject to a much fairer and less burdensome licence renewal process."

Ontario is the only jurisdiction in North America that requires commercial drivers aged 65 years and older to take an annual road test to retain their A/Z licence. Over the years, the policy has caused many experienced professional drivers to leave the industry in frustration. It is also a major cost for owner/operators who must take their truck off the road to undergo the road test or for company drivers who in some cases have to rent a truck in which to take their test.

Industry associations including the OTA, Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and Owner-Operators Business Association of Canada have been unanimous in their criticism of the current requirements.

View the original article here

OTA responds to Ontario wheel-separation fatality

TORONTO, Ont. -- Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) chief David Bradley today issued an advisory following a deadly accident in Ontario involving what is believed to be a separated tractor-trailer wheel.

This morning a woman was killed when the car she was driving collided with what is believed to be a detached tractor-trailer wheel. The truck driver believed to be involved did not stop at the scene, but police believe he or she may not have noticed the incident.

While the investigation is ongoing, Bradley had this to say: "It doesn't matter to us at this point whether the wheel in question came off of a truck or not. This is a tragedy which should not be inflicted upon any family so we're asking all truckers, indeed the operators of all commercial vehicles, to review their wheel installation and maintenance practices and policies to try to prevent further occurrences."

The Ontario trucking industry went through a period of frequent wheel separations in the 1990s, prompting legislators to impose an absolute liability fine of up to $50,000 against vehicle operators in wheel separation incidences. Since then, wheel-off incidences have declined from 215 in 1997 to 48 so far this year.  

"These fatalities should not be occurring," says Bradley. "That's the bottom line."

View the original article here

Ontario fleet optimism wanes heading into fourth quarter

TORONTO, Ont. -- Ontario carriers are less certain about their immediate future, according to the latest Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) quarterly survey.

The number of carriers reporting they were unsure about the industry's prospects jumped sharply from 26% last quarter to 40% in the Q4 survey. That marks the highest level of uncertainty since the second quarter of 2008, the OTA reports.

Still, 55% of responding carriers were optimistic about the industry's prospects over the next three months, down from 64% in the Q3 survey. There have now been three consecutive quarterly declines in optimism among Ontario fleets, the survey has found.

But while fleets may be less optimistic, they aren't panicking just yet. The number of carriers saying they were pessimistic about the industry's prospects actually declined from 9% last quarter to 5% in the fourth quarter.

The OTA survey found freight volumes are steady, with 57% of carriers indicating intra-Ontario freight is about the same as last quarter and 36% reporting improved volumes. Forty-nine per cent said interprovincial freight has stayed the same with 39% reporting improvements from last quarter. Meanwhile, carriers reported some modest improvement in the southbound US market, with 21% reporting improved volumes compared to only 19% in the last quarterly survey. Most carriers (58%) said northbound volumes have remained about the same.

As rates go, most respondents said they were "about the same" while some fleets (21%) noted improvements in southbound US rates.

The latest OTA survey found, not surprisingly, that carriers are being faced with rising costs. Sixty-four per cent reported fuel costs increases of more than 10% over the past year; 86% reported an increase in maintenance costs; 80% complained of higher tire costs; labour costs rose for 88% of carriers; the majority of fleets noted rising employee benefits costs; and 52% of fleets said they've had to pay between 2-10% more for new tractors.

Most carriers reported no change to the percentage of loaded miles they are running and the average length of haul appears to have remained steady since the previous survey.

Half of responding carriers said they expect capacity will stay the same over the next six months, up from 22% in the Q3 survey. Twenty-nine per cent, meanwhile, expect capacity to decrease and 21% feel it will increase.

Where drivers and owner/operators are concerned, 49% of carriers say they'll hire more company drivers while 44% have no plans to change their net number of drivers. Fifty-one per cent said they'll add more O/Os while 47% plan no change.

Most fleets say they don't plan to purchase new equipment, with 73% indicating they won't be adding to their fleet of tractors and 56% saying they won't add trailers over the next quarter. Thirty-eight per cent of responding fleets said they will be adding more trailers to their fleet over the next three months.

Carriers continue to report success in collecting fuel surcharges from shippers, with 91% characterizing their fuel surcharges as "reasonable," up 6% from last quarter. An increasing number of carriers are applying accessorial charges (46% compared to 31% last quarter). Only 2% reported they are not applying accessorial charges, which is the lowest number since the survey was launched in 2008, the OTA notes.

View the original article here