ATDynamics, the global supplier of semi-trailer rear-drag aerodynamics technology, announced that on October 1, 2014, Canada’s Ministers of Transportation and Highway Safety approved an amendment to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Memorandum of Understanding on Interprovincial Weights and Dimensions (MOU) which will now allow full length, maximum efficiency TrailerTails to operate within all Canadian Provinces.
The MOU serves to harmonize vehicle weight and dimension regulations within the Canadian Provinces to facilitate and support cross-provincial and territorial transportation of goods as well as the unencumbered transit of heavy-duty tractor-trailers crossing Canadian borders.
ATDynamics has worked with Canadian and cross-border trucking fleet customers since 2007 to update vehicle length exemptions and regulations, whose implementation would deliver immediate financial, environmental and safety benefits to the North American transportation industry.
“After considerable research on the effectiveness and safety of rear-mounted aerodynamic devices, in December 2013 Transport Canada revised regulations to facilitate the use of larger aerodynamic devices on the rear of trucks and trailers,” said the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat. “This amendment will harmonize regulations in Canada with those in the United States and support the trucking industry in improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.”
The next step is for each Province to issue permits or defer enforcement in the short term until legislation is changed to align with the Federal allowance for full length TrailerTail devices. The Province of Ontario began a deferred enforcement policy for the longer TrailerTails on August 11, 2014, ahead of this amendment. It is expected that the remaining Provinces will now quickly follow with interim measures to allow trucking fleets to operate TrailerTails immediately throughout all Provinces in Canada.
Canadian trucking companies have responded enthusiastically to these regulatory changes and have already launched major TrailerTail deployments within their fleets. Ontario-based ERB Group began the rapid deployment of 350 TrailerTails immediately after the deferred enforcement policy was instituted in Ontario this year. ERB’s TrailerTail program alone will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions equivalent to taking over 300 passenger vehicles off the road.
Widespread adoption of TrailerTail technology has the potential to reduce the fuel consumption of Canadian trucking operations by more than 63 million gallons of diesel fuel per year, delivering $3 billion in fuel savings and 8 million metric tons of carbon emission reductions over the next decade. ATDynamics’ AutoDeploy System, which uses proprietary speed sensing radar technology to automatically open TrailerTails at 35 miles per hour has further accelerated TrailerTail adoption.
“ATDynamics has spent the last 8 years optimizing, testing and refining TrailerTail technology, resulting in unmatched efficiency, durability, low cost and ease of operation,” said Andrew Smith, CEO and Founder of ATDynamics. “We are proud to have worked with the Canadian Trucking Association, government leadership, NGO’s and the most fuel efficient fleets in the industry to catalyze regulatory change across Canada.”
In 2006, ATDynamics was the first company in the global trucking industry to successfully commercialize rear-drag aerodynamics equipment. The Company now offers a full suite of TrailerTail solutions for all trucking applications as well as the industry’s only commercially available system to automatically deploy a rear aerodynamic fairing at highway speed. More than 500 trucking fleets in North America have deployed TrailerTails, including Top 100 fleets: Mesilla Valley Transportation, C.R. England, Prime Inc. and Roehl Transport. ATDynamics projects over 200,000 TrailerTails will be in service by 2017 based on current customer adoption trends.
TrailerTail 4x4 and Trident models are currently verified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program as Advanced Trailer End Fairings, each delivering over 5 percent fuel savings as stand-alone devices. As part of ATDynamics commitment to providing fleets with extensive independent test results, ATDynamics recently completed the latest 2014 EPA SmartWay wind tunnel test protocol qualifying TrailerTail 4x4 and Trident paired with ATDynamics side skirts for the new SmartWay Elite performance category. ATDynamics AeroTrailer packages can deliver 9-12 percent on-highway fuel savings compared to traditional semi-trailer configurations.
Hundreds of independent on-road fleet tests as well as SAE Type J1321 track tests, wind tunnel tests, computational fluid dynamic modeling and coast down tests have demonstrated repeated and consistent TrailerTail fuel savings performance.
ATDynamics displayed its commercially available TrailerTail models equipped with the industry’s only 35 mile per hour AutoDeploy System at the American Trucking Association Management Conference and Exhibition from October 5 – 7, 2014 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.
