Quebec Directs Carriers to Fill Out Safety Form

In hopes of improving its truck safety record, Quebec is creating a safety database and requiring all motor carriers that travel through the province to complete a registration form by April 1.

U.S. motor carriers should have little trouble meeting the form’s requirements, said Jan Balkin, assistant director of state laws for American Trucking Associations.

“The fees are fairly nominal and the information required is consistent with what the U.S. Department of Transportation and some states ask for,” she said.

The form, which is available from the Commission des transports du Quebec, asks for general background about the company, including type of freight hauled, safety programs, number of trucks and trailers operated, and percentage of overall kilometers the vehicles travel in Quebec.

There is a filing fee of $50 in Canadian currency for companies with fewer than three vehicles (tractors or trailers) and a $100 fee for larger fleets. All carriers operating commercial vehicles of 3,000 kilograms — about 6,600 pounds — in Quebec must register.

Almer Peadody, fleet safety manager for Dysarts’ Transportation, Bangor, Maine, said he completed the form, but found the English instructions ambiguous, forcing him to call Quebec officials for clarifications.

“It’s like all Canadian regulations and restrictions — they are confusing at times, especially Quebec,” said Mr. Peabody.

He said he was unsure from reading the form whether each of his company’s owner-operators would have to register and pay the fees, but the authorities in Quebec assured him that was not the case for U.S. companies.

The application is part of a larger safety regulation program established in Quebec. Last year, the province completed its deregulation of the trucking industry. Though many economic regulations were eliminated, they were replaced by a greater emphasis on safety standards and performance.

Gilles Tremblay, the executive director of the Quebec Transportation Board, said studies showed that truck safety in the province was poor when compared with safety records in Ontario or the U.S. “That’s the reason we have this new law,” he said.

Quebec will analyze the information it receives from applicants. The province plans to use the report, along with roadside inspection data, for enforcement purposes and to help find companies with poor safety records, said Mr. Tremblay.

To request an application, call the Quebec commission at 1-888-461-2433 or visit its Web site at www.ctq.gouv.qc.ca, which is in French.