Commercial Vehicle Industry

Engagement Summary

In recent years, a growing number of extreme weather events have resulted in traffic incidents and closures on some of our interior highways, particularly involving commercial vehicles.
 
The ministry has heard from the public and industry that more needs to be done to ensure all road users can travel our highways during the winter with confidence, knowing they will arrive safely and on time.
An online questionnaire was available for feedback on the Winter Preparation Enhancements (see below).
 
In April the ministry announced several enhancements to winter maintenance and preparation, which will be implemented this coming winter. Some of these improvements include:

• Extending winter tire and chain regulations on select highways, including mountain passes and rural routes in high snowfall areas, from Oct. 1 to April 30 (instead of March 31), to account for late season snowfall (effective October 1, 2018)
• Enhanced commercial vehicle chain-up requirements, including higher fines for commercial vehicles not carrying chains, or not chaining up when required
• Enhanced specifications for winter maintenance within the new road and bridge maintenance agreements
• Enhanced road-maintenance contractor monitoring and auditing
• Investing in additional weather stations and overhead message signs
• More support for the Winter Driving Safety Alliance through a specific winter driving campaign, to promote safe winter driving behaviour and awareness for all drivers

Timeframe

June 1 – June 22, 2018
 

Input Received

• 887 completed questionnaires received (and 557 incomplete)
• 18 questionnaires were completed in Punjabi (no comments were left in Punjabi)
• Respondents provided 938 comments within the six open text fields

Input leads to action:

Following the public engagement enhanced chain-up regulations were put into place on November 28, 2018.
 
Read the final Commercial Vehicle Industry Engagement report.