Tandems come to Nova Scotia

Tandems come to Nova Scotia    The Port of Halifax said Nova Scotia truckers will be more competitive with a pilot project that will allow double 53-foot semi-trailers to be hauled by a single tractor trailer on selected stretches of highway.
   'Long combination vehicles will help increase business to the Port of Halifax, transloading facilities where shipments are transferred to and from trucks, and other transportation partners,' the port said. Use of tandems should result in reduced truck traffic, and environmental advantages such a using less fuel and cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, it said.
   'Under the pilot program, the vehicles will be permitted to operate under strict conditions, including only on four-lane divided highways from Halifax to the New Brunswick border, lower maximum speeds of 90 km/hour, and using trained drivers with a minimum of five years and 150,000 kilometers of tractor trailer driving experience.
   Long combination vehicles will be restricted during unfavorable weather, such as freezing rain, sleet, fog and heavy snow.
   Qualified truck operators can participate in the pilot project by submitting an application to drive long combination vehicles.
   The vehicles could begin operating in Nova Scotia by Oct. 1. They are already allowed to operate year-round in British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and seasonally in Quebec. New Brunswick has said the LCVs will be allowed on all of its four-lane highways this summer.