Truck speed faces cap in Ontario, Quebec

TORONTO, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Tractor-trailers traveling in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec must have speed limiters installed after Jan. 1 new laws stipulate.

In a joint news release, the Ontario government and the Ontario Trucking Association said all big trucks, regardless of where they come from, must have the devices installed and working to limits speed to 65 mph.

The release quoted a Transport Canada federal study showing in Ontario alone, the limiters would save the trucking industry about 2.6 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 280,000 tons annually.

However, both provinces legislated a six-month "educational awareness period" to provide trucking companies and drivers from elsewhere in Canada and the United States an opportunity to comply with the new rules, the release said.

Speed limiters have also been introduced in some countries in the European Union and the Australian state of New South Wales, Transport Canada said.