Overview
The Government of Quebec recently made amendments to their Highway Safety Code (chapter C-24.2)* to include provisions requiring new audible and visual alarm systems for all trucks, trailers, and semi-trailers with a dump body, including roll-on and roll-off vehicles. If your fleet of heavy dump vehicles have a height exceeding 4.15m/13.6ft when raised, the regulations are quite specific and it’s not as simple as it seems. Before you equip your fleet, use this check list to see which devices make the “compliance” cut.
All raised body trucks that travel through the province of Quebec, regardless of their origin, will be required to have installed a specific light and sound alarm to signal when a dump body position is not fully lowered to its safe home position.
"The regulation aims to make compulsory the addition of a warning light and an audible warning device to dump trucks, trailers and dump semi-trailers" said Sophie Roy, spokesperson for the SAAQ.
Key Characteristics of Compliant Devices
Flashing Red Light:
- Be placed in the upper portion of the vehicle’s dashboard, in the driver’s line of sight.
- Have a flashing frequency between 60-120x per minute.
- Have light intensity sufficiently bright to be easily seen by the driver in day light.
- Automatically trigger when the vehicle’s power key is in the ON position, remain on until the dump body is completely lowered.
- Automatically trigger as soon as there is a malfunction of the position sensor or loss of connection to the dump body.
Audible Warning Sound:
- Be placed inside the vehicle cab, easily heard while engine running and in an active work site.
- Emit continuous or intermittent sound at a frequency between 60-120x per minute.
- Emit a sound sufficiently high to be easily heard by the driver in any situation.
- Automatically trigger when the vehicle’s power key is in the ON position, remain on until the dump body is completely lowered.
- Automatically trigger as soon as there is a malfunction of the position sensor or loss of connection to the dump body.
- Can mute after at least 5 seconds of operation, remain off until the vehicle reaches speed of up to 12km/hr. Beyond this speed, it must automatically trigger again.
Factors Affecting Compliance
Box Position Reader - The device must take its reading without any intermediary, therefore using hydraulic pressure of the cylinder or on the lifting control of the dump body are not compliant.
Speed Measurement System - Speed can be taken with any reliable technology, independent of the vehicle ECU. Weather conditions, remote geography, tunnel passage may disrupt the operation of certain technologies, therefore loss of signal used to measure speed must then result in alarm activation. Using GPS/AVL for rate of speed does not provide accurate nor reliable data due to variable ping frequency.
Solution: Are you Good to Go™?
Reliable, Tamper-Proof, Compliant - DiCAN’s patent-protected dump box module contains the most innovative microprocessor available in the North American market; telling operators when a truck’s dump box is fully lowered and they are Good to Go™. Hardwired directly to the vehicle’s data bus connection, the Good to Go™ Warning System guarantees reliable, continuous dump box position monitoring and eliminates accidental disconnection or operator tampering. SAAQ compliant and available for all truck makes and models, even vehicles pre 1993, including pup trailer extension kits and momentary mute module.
Inspections + Fines for Non-Compliance - Mechanical inspections will begin September 1, 2020 to ensure dump box sensing devices and systems are compliant with Highway Safety Code. Raised dump box accidents are costly. Non-compliant offenders could face fines of $350 to $1,050 per vehicle, per offence.
Raised dump box accidents happen more often than any fleet manager or site supervisor is willing to admit. Protect your fleet and your bottom line, take the time to invest in a commercial fleet safety solution that best delivers the power of prevention.
