On Monday a St Catharines Ontario Appeals Court judge ordered a new trial which will likely be set for September or early October in the speed limiters case against owner operator Lee Ingratta.
The case started when the Gravenhurst Ontario driver refused to allow MTO officers to plug in their Ez-Tap scanner unless the officer first signed a waiver to assume all responsibility in the event of damage. The officer refused then fined Ingratta for not submitting to the a compliance check which is an offense under the Highway Traffic Act. Mr Ingratta claims his truck was in compliance of the law.
Mr Ingratta took the MTO to court and had the ticket dismissed after testifying that the device the ministry uses to gauge compliance can transmit static charges to truck ECMs and even upload viruses. While other experts agree with Mr Ingratta, the MTO has refused to comment or refute the claims instead they are appealing the courts decision claiming the traffic court judge “erred”in his judgement.
Mr Ingratta in speaking with todaystrucking.com stated he is looking forward to calling in other truckers and diesel technicians as witnesses who will testify that the device can cause engine damage and is known to improperly read settings on certain models. This is of serious concern to the trucking industry as a whole and can set precedence outside of Ontario as many more jurisdictions are looking at their own speed limiter laws.
Speed limiter laws are certainly a hot topic of debate in the trucking community. Most are not in favor of the law citing speed limiter laws already exist in the form of actual speed limits on our road ways and more should be done to enforce these laws for all motor vehicles not just a small but visible segment of the motoring public.
I am sure many people will be looking closely at this case as it unfolds in the Ontario Court system. In the meantime Mr Ingratta and his attorney are calling on truckers as well as mechanics to come forward to present information regarding problems to equipment experienced during a speed limiter inspection. As well the Owner-operator Business Association of Canada or OBAC of which Mr Ingratta is a member, has set up a legal defense fund on their website for Mr Ingratta and other truckers who are challenging the speed limiter law.