The price of oil is down about 3% from yesterday, yet the price of a litre of gasoline keeps going up. The stations I passed on the way to work today were showing $1.019/L.
Has anyone been into a PetroCanada station in the last couple of days for gas? Did you notice the sticker on the pump that shows the breakdown of the cost of gasoline? Given that breakdown the price of gasoline should be in the $0.65 - 0.70 range. How can they justify the current pricing?
How about a made in Canada price for OUR petroleum products? And our exports can be at world prices.
One of the problems is, we have no alternatives. We just can’t go somewhere else, the price is the same. There are no options available to us.
What is it going to take before this house of cards of the oil industry collapses?
More than 100 shippers in the US have formed a new pressure group to urge Congress to raise the legal vehicle weight limit on US motorways.
Kraft Foods, MillerCoors and International Paper were among the companies to join the Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), which called for a change in the law to allow larger vehicles.
"America’s freight transportation infrastructure is on the verge of becoming overwhelmed over the next decade," said CTP co-chair John Runyan. "Freight hauled by trucks in the US is expected to double by 2025, and truck traffic is growing 11 times faster than road capacity. (courtesy International Freighting Weekly)
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From the Toronto Star, May 21/09 – Halton police abandon cruisers that look like taxis
What is happening here is that Halton Police put a taxi-like light on top of unmarked cruisers. The text on the light reads: "POLICE 878-5511", not "TAXI".
But some members of the public feel that this gives the police an unfair advantage. And an unmarked cruiser doesn’t? So Halton Police have abandoned this project. Insp. Bill Ford said that the project was to "reduce the number of deaths caused by aggressive driving and motor vehicle accidents".
What do you want to bet that the complainers are the ones that break the law? This is a no-brainer. Don’t speed, drive agressively or be an idiot and those unmarked "taxi" patrol cars wont bother you.
As for Halton Police—get a backbone! And do whatever it takes to make our roads SAFE!
Transport Canada has posted a consultation document on their website for Amendment 9. This proposed amendment will deal with:
- Changes to 1.3.1: updating the standards for items 10, 12, 22 and 34.
- Item 10 will now reference CGSB-43.126-2008
- Item 12 will reference CGSB-43.147-2005 as amended in 2008
- Items 22 and 34 reference the ICAO Technical Instruction and Supplement for the 2009-2010 Edition
- Section 11.4: the definitions for ICAO Technical Instructions and the Supplement are updated
- A new section 5.9: this deals with CGSB-43.147 where paragraph 4.11.3c does not apply. This paragraph deals with the registration of tank car test facilities.
- Section 5.12(1): this is a housekeeping change—it skips section 18 of CGSB-43.150.
- Section 5.12(2): again, this is a housekeeping change that pertains to steel or plastic drums needing to be reconditioned, remanufactured or repaired. These steps must be done at a Transport Canada registered facility.
If you have comments for Transport Canada on this amendment, please forward them to:
Linda Hume-Sastre
Director, Legislation and Regulations
linda.hume-sastre@tc.gc.ca
Get ready people, here come the road trains or "long combination vehicles" as is known in the industry. Ontario is proposing a one (1) year trial period for these trucks. When did Ontario move to the southern hemisphere and become part of the Australian outback?
The Ministry of Transport (MTO) states that these monstrous rigs will provide "environmental benefits and lower shipping costs that come with having one truck haul more cargo". And that there will be "strict restrictions on when, where and how fast they can drive and how much weight they can carry". Well, let’s look at each of the issues:
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This year’s COSTHA Forum was held in Long Beach, California from March 29 – April 1.
Some of the speakers were:
- Geoff Leach, Civil Aviation Authority, UK
- Janet McLaughlin, Divisions Manager, US DOT FAA
- Duane Pfund, Director International Standards, US DOT PHMSA
- Robert Richard, Deputy Associate Administrator, US DOT PHMSA
- Brendan Sullivan, Manager, Cargo Standards, IATA
- William Schoonover, Federal Railroad Administration
- Dave Madsen, Hazmat Analyst, AutoLiv, Inc.
- L’Gena Prevatt, Delta Air Lines, Inc.
- Josefine Gullo, Swedish Rescue Services Agency
- Chen Zhegcai, Director of Transport and Safety, Ministry of Transport, China
- Sean Broderick, Regulatory Compliance Manager, Procter & Gamble
and the list goes on. But in looking at the list, someone is missing.
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TDG 4.15(2) is up for discussion again. Transport Canada is stating that a change to the regs is being considered and it should harmonize with 49 CFR.
Transport Canada is also suggesting that the "inspector community" should take the least restrictive of options available in TDG, i.e. return to using the DANGER placard.
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So, some Ontario truckers are upset that the provincial government has imposed speed limiters for trucks, to be set at 105 kph.
One spokesman for truckers says that a trucker needs that extra speed for when the trailer starts to come around. Being maxed at 105 will not allow a trucker to apply the extra speed to straighten out the trailer. If your trailer is starting to pass you, doesn’t that tell you something? For instance, you are not driving to the conditions of the road.
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Transport Canada has issued a discussion/consultation paper that contains 36 amendments. Some of these suggested amendments make sense, but the others are begging the question: just what is Transport Canada thinking?
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On November 18, 2008, Premier McGinty’s government through Jim Bradley, Minister of Transportation issued a statement regarding new legislation to improve road safety – the Road Safety Act.
Some of the issues of this act are:
- extension of the graduated licensing system from 2 years to 3 years
- teen passenger restrictions
- 30 day, 90 day suspensions
- return to G1 status
- zero tolerance blood alcohol
- zero tolerance on infractions
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