ATDynamics announced that on Oct. 1, 2014, Canada’s Ministers of Transportation and Highway Safety approved an amendment to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Memorandum of Understanding on Interprovincial Weights and Dimensions (MOU) which will allow full length, maximum efficiency TrailerTails to operate within all Canadian Provinces.
The MOU serves to harmonize vehicle weight and dimension regulations within the Canadian Provinces to facilitate and support cross-provincial and territorial transportation of goods as well as the unencumbered transit of heavy-duty tractor-trailers crossing Canadian borders.
“After considerable research on the effectiveness and safety of rear-mounted aerodynamic devices, in December 2013 Transport Canada revised regulations to facilitate the use of larger aerodynamic devices on the rear of trucks and trailers,” said the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat. “This amendment will harmonize regulations in Canada with those in the United States and support the trucking industry in improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.”
The next step is for each province to issue permits or defer enforcement in the short term until legislation is changed to align with the Federal allowance for full length TrailerTail devices. The Province of Ontario began a deferred enforcement policy for the longer TrailerTails on Aug. 11, 2014, ahead of this amendment. It is expected that the remaining Provinces will now quickly follow with interim measures to allow trucking fleets to operate TrailerTails immediately throughout all Provinces in Canada.
Canadian trucking companies have responded enthusiastically to these regulatory changes and have already launched major TrailerTail deployments within their fleets, said the company. Ontario-based ERB Group began the rapid deployment of 350 TrailerTails immediately after the deferred enforcement policy was instituted in Ontario this year. ERB’s TrailerTail program alone will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions equivalent to taking over 300 passenger vehicles off the road.
“ATDynamics has spent the last 8 years optimizing, testing and refining TrailerTail technology, resulting in unmatched efficiency, durability, low cost and ease of operation,” said Andrew Smith, chief executive officer and founder of ATDynamics. “We are proud to have worked with the Canadian Trucking Association, government leadership, NGO’s and the most fuel efficient fleets in the industry to catalyze regulatory change across Canada.”
ATDynamics offers a full suite of TrailerTail solutions for all trucking applications as well as a system to automatically deploy a rear aerodynamic fairing at highway speed.
TrailerTail 4×4 and Trident models are currently verified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program as Advanced Trailer End Fairings.
