Ontario is expanding its emissions enforcement by equipping roadside officers with the same testing technology used in DriveON inspection centers, allowing them to conduct full diesel emissions checks on commercial vehicles on highways across the province.
The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) said in a letter to stakeholders that the move strengthens its transition of emissions legislation from the Environmental Protection Act to the Highway Traffic Act and builds on on-road inspections that began in 2021.
Ministry officers have already been conducting visual checks for visible smoke, tampering and damaged emissions components. With the enhanced technology, roadside capabilities now include opacity testing to measure exhaust pollutant density and on-board diagnostic testing to confirm diesel emissions control systems are working properly.
All diesel-powered commercial vehicles operating in Ontario must meet provincial standards, and violators may face warnings, fines, plate seizures or repair orders, the ministry warned. Police and MTO officers are authorized to stop and inspect vehicles when they suspect excessive emissions or tampering.
OTA welcomes measures
The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) welcomed the new measures, along with enforcement of speed limiters and distracted driving rules.
“These recent measures are a clear sign of Ontario’s commitment to continue cleaning up the unethical and dangerous behaviors on our highways by fleet owners who don’t care about compliance and their responsibility to safety and the environment,” OTA president and CEO Stephen Laskowski said in a news release.
Laskowski said OTA wants the province to open safety inspection scales 24/7 and eliminate the satisfactory un-audited safety rating category by ensuring fleets that have never undergone a compliance review receive oversight.
OTA said that it is also seeking clarification from MTO on the timeline for utilizing the DriveOn technology at roadside for enforcing speed-limiters. The association will be encouraging MTO to ensure their emissions enforcement is strong and balanced focusing on intra-provincial routes and those used by out-of-province carriers.
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