Truckers Protest Pre-set Speeds

(Joe Belanger — London Free Press)

A convoy heads to Toronto to oppose a top speed of 105 km/h

If the snow don’t get ‘ya, the truckers probably will.

Drivers heading east on the Highway 401 today can expect a slow commute as a big winter storm — dubbed a “snow-mageddon” — blows in.

But if forecasters are wrong and the massive storm doesn’t hit, truckers across Ontario and even from the U.S. say they’ll go ahead with a protest caravan that begins west of Cambridge on the 401 and runs through to Toronto.

The truckers are protesting Ontario’s new speed limiter law that begins Jan. 1, requiring rigs be equipped with micro-chips to pre-set a truck’s top speed, which in Ontario would be capped at 105 km/h.

Many truckers work in a just-in-time industry, where goods are delivered straight to factories and time is crucial.

But the truckers say their beef with the law is it’s unnecessary and will only cause more road headaches, as frustrated drivers try to get past slower-moving rigs.

In an integrated trucking industry, some trucks passing through Ontario from outside may not have the needed limiters, they also point out. Read more here.