Effective July 1, 2018, all superload permit moves in Ontario, which previously required provincial police escorts, will require newly certified private pilot escorts through the Certified Superload Escort Program.


 

According to the Ontario Ministry of Transport (MTO), moves are classed as a superload when the gross vehicle weight exceeds 120,000 kg (120 tonnes) or when the vehicle measures 5 m in width or 45.75 m in length.

The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) said that this rule is the first of its kind in North America, where a state or province replaces all previously required police escorts with newly certified private escorts.

The SC&RA and several of its Canadian members collaborated with the MTO for over a year as it worked to implement the new rule.

There will be a brief contingency period in which police escorts may fill in, but this will be short term and will be ended once the MTO believes enough newly certified escorts are available, said the SC&RA.

According to the SC&RA, MTO officials estimate that they will need more than approximately 300 newly certified escorts to handle the roughly 4,000 moves per year that require a permit.

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