TORONTO – Concerns over long combination vehicles apparently makes for strange bedfellows.

Although Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are not known to be union favorites, The Teamsters have joined Tory MP Dean Del Mastro’s fight against LCVs in Ontario.

In an open letter to the Ontario Minister of Transportation, the National Director of Teamsters Canada’s Freight and Tank Haul Division Robert (Bud) McAulay cautions the ministry that allowing LCVs must be better "thought out."

The gist: The union admits that some of its members operate LCVs in other provinces like Alberta and Quebec, so while it’s generally not opposed to double-53-ft trailers elsewhere, it doesn’t want them in Ontario because, McAulay believes, "of the high density of traffic and the number of ‘on and off’ ramps.”

The Ministry is currently assessing the results of the province’s inaugural LCV pilot project, which participants have deemed to be a success.

But in November, Peterborough-area MP Del Mastro spoke out against LCVs.

Despite clearly not having a full grasp of the facts, Del Mastro – a self-proclaimed pro-rail buff who heads Parliament’s so-called ‘rail caucus’ – railed against LCVs as inherently dangerous and hurtful to the environment.

Proponents, though, often point to loads of literature that concludes just the opposite on both counts.

After launching his "Trains Belong on Tracks" campaign, Del Mastro stated his constituents don’t like driving beside LCVs. (It’s a good thing, then, that strictly regulated LCVs are not allowed on roads near Peterborough).

McAulay echoes some of those sentiments and, like Del Mastro, refers to a US DOT study  that uncovered several risks, particularly reduced stability, as well as an 11-percent increase in the number of fatal accidents involving LCVs.

It’s very likely both Del Mastro and McAulay are aware that the particular study cited was conducted about 20 years ago and subsequent research – including more recent reports from DOT agencies — has convincingly inverted those conclusions.

Undaunted, McAulay also sees the differential speed limit on Highway 401 as a potential hazard.

"Currently," he writes, "there are three different speed limits on many highways in Ontario, especially through the busy GTA corridor. There is no comparison between the volume of traffic in the Prairies and eastern Quebec and the density of traffic in Ontario."

McAulay says that different speeds between cars (pushing 120 km/h), speed-limited trucks (105 km/h) and LCVs (capped at 90 km/h) also has the potential to trigger "road rage."

The letter didn’t mention any documented cases of LCV-triggered road rage that may have led to a traffic accident since the pilot project was launched in Ontario 18 months ago.