VICTORIA -- Acting on recommendations from the Trucking Sector Climate Action Working Group, the B.C. government is making two allowances for truckers to increase productivity.

Effective next week, the ministry’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) branch will allow for a weight tolerance up to a maximum of 225 kg (500 pounds) for vehicles carrying an auxiliary power unit (APU).

CVSE is also expanding the divisible load permit program to allow divisible loads up to 2.75 metres in overall width. Presently the limit is 2.6 metres, and the government hopes the additional 15 centimetres will allow increased productivity for vehicles carrying divisible loads, while staying within the legal axle GVW.

Divisible loads are loads which can easily be made smaller to comply with the regulation dimensions. For example, with a divisible load permit under the new regulation, drywall sheets 1.37 m (54”) wide can be loaded side-by-side, doubling the number of sheets being carried and reducing the number of trips required to deliver the load. This change will also take effect next week.

“Improved fuel economy and productivity for B.C.’s truckers is good news for B.C.’s economy,” said Paul Landry, president and CEO of the B.C. Trucking Association, and co-chair of the Trucking Sector Climate Action Working Group. “This is a good example of how, by working closely with government, frontline recommendations can translate into important changes for an industry.”

The Trucking Sector Climate Action Working Group was created in December 2008 as one of 14 industry stakeholder groups established by the Cabinet Committee for Climate Action to identify GHG emission reduction opportunities in various sectors of B.C.’s economy.

“This working group gathered input from trucking sector members across the province on how to positively affect climate change, and improve efficiency,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Shirley Bond. “The recommendations we’re implementing will promote fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in B.C.’s trucking sector.”