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Wide single tire weight parity with duals adopted in National MoU

At the meeting of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety in late January, the Heavy Truck Weight and Dimension Limits for Interprovincial Operations in Canada were amended to allow the use of wide based single tires at the same weight limits are dual tires.

"We are grateful for the leadership shown by the First Ministers, Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety and the Provincial and Territorial government representatives of the Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy for moving forward on this issue so that the trucking industry can take advantage of this progressive equipment technology under the MOU umbrella,"  says CTA's Sr. VP, Policy, Geoff Wood.

The updated Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) summary can be found here (MOU Summary 2019_public) and has also been posted on the Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions website.

For wide base single tires, the primary change that has been made is to Clause 10 (page 9):

Previously:

  • 10. Its axle weights, when an axle is fitted with two single tires, each of which has a width of 445 mm or greater, do not exceed 7700 kg for Single Axles and 15,400 kg for Tandem Axle Groups.

As amended:

  • 10. Its axle weights, when an axle in a single, tandem or tridem axle group is fitted with either two sets of dual tires, or two single tires each of which has a width of 445 mm or greater, do not exceed the weight limit stipulated for each axle type in its vehicle category.

This update to the MOU will allow movement of designated single tire trucks and trailers operating on designated highway in each province/territory. With the MOU updated, provinces and territories will now work towards amending their regulations to reflect the recent changes and in the interim (where required) offer permits or other avenues to facilitate the movement of single tire equipped vehicles. A consultation with individual provincial/territorial authorities is strongly recommended to determine appropriate compliance options during this interim period. An MoU status summary is available for additional details on the 2019 amendments and other years.

"The outcome of this policy decision which also saw an all-hands-on-deck effort from the provincial trucking associations in the Alliance strikes a good balance between road infrastructure preservation and productivity, safety and environmental considerations. It also levels the playing field with respect to Canadian and US fleets in their tire spec'ing options. The ultimate goal of this effort now and all MoU updates is to have all jurisdictions adopt the MOU changes in their regulations as quickly as individual regulatory/legislative timetables permit," added Wood.

With the single tires now addressed in the MOU, it clears a policy backlog for CTA with respect to weights and dimensions issues nationally. The policy development focus at CTA can now regroup and prepare for further direction from its Board and membership on issues of priority national in scope.

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