The BCTA is thrilled to announce that our association has achieved a major advocacy win. On April 5th, 2023, the BC Government tabled Bill 23, which proposes amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, in the legislature, which includes mandating speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks.
The amendments represent steps the government is taking to create a safer environment for vulnerable road users and to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in transportation by 27% to 32%, including:
- implementing a one-metre minimum safe-passing distance and a three-metre minimum following distance that drivers of motor vehicles must observe when sharing roadways with pedestrians, cyclists, e-bikes and other similar devices;
- requiring the use of speed-limiter equipment to regulate the maximum speed of heavy-duty commercial vehicles, decreasing GHG emissions, reducing speed-related crashes and making it safer for all road users; and
- expanding the Province’s authority to implement more pilot projects, including enabling province-wide pilot projects and broader regulation-making authority to test safe, new and emerging transportation technologies and road safety policies.
“The BCTA is pleased to see the Province take action to address safety concerns while providing more pathways to adopting advancing transportation technologies,” said Dave Earle, president and CEO of the BC Trucking Association. “We’ve advocated for speed limiters on heavy-duty commercial vehicles because the data shows they dramatically reduce the number of at fault speed-related accidents. Additionally, speed limiters help green our sector by curbing fuel consumption and emissions generated by trucks travelling at high speeds. These amendments will benefit the trucking industry and British Columbians as a whole.”
These changes are part of B.C.’s Clean Transportation Action Plan to be released later this year. BCTA looks forward to working with the provincial government to develop the implementation and enforcement framework.
For the complete Government of BC news release, click here.