Trucking news and briefs for Monday, July 22, 2024:
Bridge strike leads to shutdown for Canadian fleet
The Canadian province of British Columbia took action on its bridge strike problem on Tuesday, shutting a fleet down and issuing a fine for a first offense in a crackdown on overheight trucks.
S.G.D. Transport Ltd, a seven-truck fleet in British Columbia, had all trucks pulled out of service on Tuesday after striking the CP Rail Overpass on Highway 1 in Langley, British Columbia. S.G.D. will remain suspended pending a further investigation.
Authorities issued a ticket of $575 to the driver of the vehicle involved in the July 16 incident for operating an overheight vehicle without a permit, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said.
This represents the 19th bridge strike in the province in 2024 alone, according to a tracker on the Ministry’s website.
The problem has grown so bad that B.C. imposed penalties of up to $100,000 and even 18 months of jail time for offending drivers.
“We are taking the strongest action possible to keep our roads safe and to keep people, goods and services moving,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure announcing the penalties in March. “This also sends a message to commercial truck drivers that they are responsible for the safe transportation of goods and services on our roads, and a lax attitude toward safety will not be tolerated.”
The fines start at around $500 and get worse, potentially a reaction to Chohan Freight Forwarders, a 65-truck fleet in B.C. with numerous bridge strikes that got shut down in January.
With a “progressive enforcement framework, suspensions cost the carrier far more in business than the amount of the ticket,” the ministry explained. “Depending on the circumstances, including previous infrastructure crashes, and at [Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement’s] discretion, B.C. carriers involved in repeat incidents may face suspensions pending investigations that take days, suspensions pending audits that take weeks, and potentially, ultimately cancellation of their carrier safety certificate, ceasing their on-road operations.”
“B.C. carriers must cease operations and park vehicles immediately upon suspension of their safety certificate,” the ministry concluded.
[Related: $100,000 fines, jail time proposed as carriers keep hitting bridges in British Columbia]
Zonar becomes first CARB-certified on-board diagnostic emissions testing device provider
Fleet management system provider Zonar is the first telematics provider to receive formal certification from California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Clean Truck Check (CTC) program as a provider of continuously connected remote on-board diagnostic (CC-ROBD) testing devices, the company announced July 16.
Zonar’s V4 telematics control unit (TCU) has undergone rigorous assessment and approval processes to achieve certification as an OBD device in accordance with CARB’s CTC requirements. After providing the requisite emissions data and supporting information, Zonar has officially been granted an executive order to provide its OBD device and over-the-air emissions monitoring service to customers.
“As the first certified telematics provider of OBD testing devices, Zonar is proud to provide a solution that will automatically perform emission checks while fleet vehicles are on route ensuring compliance, eliminating downtime and reducing costly logistical nightmares due to rerouting vehicles to testing centers for a required scan,” said Greg Colvin, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at Zonar. “Our end-to-end solution will help drivers seamlessly adapt to the new mandate, save significant time and money, and ultimately make meaningful progress toward reduced carbon emissions. This is a major achievement as we enter the final stage of work for our in-market solution to be released prior to the regulatory deadline.”
By combining regular vehicle testing with advanced emissions monitoring, OBD testing devices must scan every CTC regulatory-required vehicle in a fleet at the beginning of its 90-day compliance intervals (based on vehicles’ VIN or date of registration) to give fleets adequate time to identify and schedule emissions-related repairs as needed to pass.
Fleets will have two emissions scanning options: a handheld shop tool plugged into the OBD port operated by a certified technician; or an OBD device installed into the vehicle which automatically performs scans and sends the data over-the-air directly to CARB.
If a CTC-regulatory required vehicle is unable to pass an emissions test, consequences may include fines, citations, and/or vehicle registration holds.
Beginning January 1, 2025, any commercial vehicle traveling to or through California will be required to undergo testing twice per year. In 2027, vehicles will be required to test four times per year.