TORONTO — A Gravenhurst, Ont. trucker has convinced a judge to toss out a ticket for not complying with the province’s mandatory speed limiter rule.

According to Land Line, the official publication of OOIDA, Lee Ingratta beat the ticket after a judge agreed that he did not in fact refuse to have his engine ECM checked for a proper speed limiter setting.

Ingratta, a member of the Owner-Operators Business Association of Canada and self-described computer expert, said he would allow the inspector to hook up the ECM scanning device only if the officer signed a waiver indicating that the MTO take full responsibility for any damage that may occur as a result of tapping into the truck’s computer.

Ingratta, who once owned a computer shop, said it’s possible for a static charge of electricity from data port exchanges to damage his ECM. He notes that dealers can void the warranty on the computer if it was tampered with.

However, the officer disregarded Ingratta’s "just-in-case" liability waiver and wrote him up for refusing to consent to a speed limiter check.

Earlier this month, though, an Ontario judge threw out the charge, ruling that Ingratta did not refuse the inspection.

Not surprisingly, the MTO is appealing the decision.

Joanne Ritchie of OBAC told Land Line that her group and other critics began raising concerns about driver privacy and the potential for computer-related problems from the ECM scanners.

That isn’t the only speed limiter case before the courts.

Ontario driver and anti-speed limiter activist Scott Mooney is also fighting his own ticket. On top of privacy and equipment warranty concerns, he argues that speed differentials between cars and trucks as a result of speed limiters can cause more accidents.

That case has been set for July 21 in Napanee, Ont.