2024 is going to be a big year for changes to commercial vehicle safety laws in British Columbia. Not only did we see major changes come into effect at the end of December designed to end the epidemic of overpass strikes, but we are about to see other changes that can have a huge impact.
Here is an overview of the new commercial vehicle safety laws for truck drivers in BC, and the tickets the drivers can get.
Over-Height Vehicle Rules and Changes
One of the biggest changes came into effect on December 14, 2023. These changes included requirements for certain permits for over-height vehicles.
A vehicle’s height is now legally determined by measuring it from the highest point of the vehicle – including the load or anything on the vehicle – down to the road surface directly below. Vehicles over 4.15 meters are not permitted to operate unless they have a special permit. The permit dictates how high the vehicle can be.
If you violate this restriction, there are three tickets you can get:
- Operate vehicle with height over 4.15 m without permit;
- Vehicle height contravenes permit; and,
- Vehicle height contravenes general authority.
And – to make matters worse – these violations also carry a fine of $575.
In-Cab Warning Devices
Commencing on June 1, 2024, all vehicles equipped with a dump box that can go over 4.15 meters if it is raised (even if it is not being used) must also be equipped with a visual or audio warning device. This is supposed to alert the driver if the box is raised. There will also be special requirements for the warning device set out in the Motor Vehicle Act regulations.
Again, the height is measured from the highest point on the dump box when it is fully raised all the way to the road surface below.
The ticket that a driver can receive for this is a ticket for “Vehicle not properly equipped with a dump box warning device.” Not only will the vehicle not properly equipped with a dump box warning device ticket carry a fine of $598, but it will also have NSC points associated with it.
NSC points are company points that affect the driver’s carrier profile. This can lead to intervention actions against a fleet and escalating penalties that can see drivers and entire fleets removed from the roadway.
Speed Limiter Devices
The biggest change we will see however are changes that come into effect as of April 5, 2024. These changes will require all vehicles that are considered “heavy commercial vehicles” be equipped with a speed limiter device.
Heavy commercial vehicles that meet this definition are any vehicle manufactured after 1994, with a gross vehicle weight of more than 11,793 kg. This rule applies to any vehicles operating in the province.
The limiter must be set to a certain speed. The speed is 105 kilometers per hour. The reason for this speed is to match the speeds of speed limiter devices used in Ontario and Quebec and to have more consistency between the provinces. But this also serves an important public safety purpose of preventing heavy commercial vehicles from barrelling down the Coquihalla Highway, along the Okanagan Connector, and throughout the interior. In recent years there have been many concerning incidents and traffic tickets issued to commercial drivers for speeding.
The tickets that a driver can get if they are required to have a speed limiter are numerous:
- No speed limiter in heavy commercial vehicle;
- Speed limiter in heavy commercial vehicle not activated;
- Speed limiter in heavy commercial vehicle not set to prescribed maximum rate of speed;
- Speed limiter in heavy commercial vehicle not in good working order;
- Inaccurately programmed electronic control module in heavy commercial vehicle;
- Tampering technology in heavy commercial vehicle;
- Tampering technology interacting with speed limiter;
Each of these tickets also will carry three driver penalty points – meaning that drivers could get individual license suspensions or be terminated by their carrier for bad driving records. And each one of the tickets for no speed limiter in commercial vehicle or for tampering with or disabling speed limiters, or even for not setting a speed limiter to the correct speed carries a hefty $368 fine.
That is more than double the fine for a regular speeding ticket, which a driver could get for travelling under the speed limit in some places in BC.
There will be exemptions for emergency vehicles and motorhomes.
If you are a commercial driver, you need to pay attention to these changing rules. You also need to be careful to dispute any of these tickets should you receive one. The consequences are designed to be severe and you can expect that the government will be severe in the manner of enforcing them.