Ontario to require ELDs for provincially regulated carriers
Ontario plans to mandate electronic logging devices (ELDs) for inter- and intra-provincial carriers effective June 12, 2022, building on a mandate that already applies to federally regulated carriers.
“This will provide consistency and help level the playing field for all carriers regardless of where the carrier operates,” the Ontario Ministry of Transportation says in a related notice.
While federally regulated carriers – those that cross provincial borders – are already mandated to use such devices, enforcement was deferred until that date, in part because no ELDs were certified. The mandate itself became effective this June.
Transport Canada has since certified six ELD models as meeting underlying technical standards.
Bus drivers operating solely within Ontario will also be required to use a certified ELD as of July 1, 2023.
There are some exemptions including commercial vehicles that operate within a 160 km radius, equipment that is rented no longer than 30 days, and trucks manufactured before Model Year 2000.
“OTA congratulates [Transport Minister Caroline] Mulroney and the team at MTO for moving forward with this critical regulatory amendment, which will align MTO with Transport Canada’s efforts on ELDs, improve road safety, and level the competitive playing field for all companies operating in Ontario,” OTA chairman Wendell Erb said in a related statement.
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one question: Will this apply to the argriculture industry? Currently HOS and many other requirements ( full commercial plate registrations with the same fees as other trucks) farmers and those corporations operating as farms have many exemptions and create an uneven playing field.
The historic reason was to allow the farmer to get their produce to market, these large corporations with hundreds of employees do not fit that requirement nor require relief from public policies that are meant for the safety of all road users.
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I agree no farm corp or operations should be have over 10 units and still be able to use farm plates and exemptions. Smaller farms are a big problem getting crops off with costs of operations in Ontario compared to the U S.
Then pay the driver from the E log and require all shipping and receiving to put the drivers up in a hotel room if they run out of hours on their dock. Require overtime pay after 10 hours and set a minimum wage rates on payroll for O T R drivers of 1.9 times min wage and corp drivers of 2.4 times minimum wage. Other jobs pay better than drivers at this point in time. Do allow a y foreign workers to drive truck unless they arex getting at least $29.0/ hr plus overtime pay and housing costs from the employer.
Well I certainly hope the province is ready for low stock availability on pretty much everything, increased costs, and trucks parking and sleeping pretty much wherever they want, since the province has like 10 lots (Ontario wide) that are govt owned and operated for trucks to park.
They also better be prepared to be cleaning up a lot of nasty wrecks on the backroads, when drivers will no longer have time for scared old people or incremental weather, or backups at ports or otherwise.
This province is doomed to good idea fairies that have never worked a real day in their lives, but continue to try and mess things up for people who do work.
Ask the province, what is the percentage of wrecks/insurance claims of companies that run ELD, vs the companies that do not? I would be willing to bet money the ELDs cause more dangerous driving and more fatigued driving, than paper log drivers.
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I’ll take that bet !!! Easy money 🙂
Why would anything change? No one changed the HOS rules.
Oh I’m sure you are a law abiding driver and you never cheat your log, right? There shouldn’t be anything different for you other than you don’t have to worry about running out of ink.
Or, are you saying it’s okay for you to cook your books … as long as it’s good for you, right? What about when your company asks you to cook the books so they can get an extra load delivered? Is it okay to run an illegal log then?
Or, are you just saying you “have to get the job done”? Why is that? Are you somehow responsible for someone else’s poor planning?
You have enough problems getting your rig up and down the road without hitting someone or getting hit by someone. There’s no need to take on everyone else’s problems too.
The only thing that is changing is how you record your HOS duty status.
Advantages; no one can dispute what has been recorded. Do you have any idea of the power of that idea? No more not getting paid for what you do as driver. No more working 20 hours and recording 14 and getting paid for 13 hours of driving. No more sitting around at the end of every day for an hour trying to make your paper log legal. No more working for less than minimum wage !!!
Disadvantages; there’s no downside.
And even after all of that, there is still nothing that says you cannot cheat your log. It’s not going to shut your truck down in the middle of the 401 or anything stupid like that. It’s just way easier to get caught.
The claim of more fatigued drivers is so much bullcrap it’s not even funny anymore. That claim didn’t work in the U.S. and it sure isn’t going to work here. It’s the whimsical fantasy excuse for those that have never used an ELD and think it’s this terrible thing that’s going to sit in your truck and tell you what to do when the only thing it is going to do is sit in your truck and record what you do. It’s the excuse of people afraid of change.
When you are tired, you go to bed whether you have hours left or not. You cannot be fired for driving tired (read unsafe). If you do get fired, it’s lottery payday. Take it to court, it’s a guaranteed win if you’re not trying to scam the system.
I suppose your one of those that think they can make more money on a paper log. Please, explain that.
The only way you make more money on a paper log is by cheating, and if you have to cheat the system to get paid, then it’s an absolute guarantee that someone is cheating you … the shipper, receiver, or even your own carrier.
When ELD’s become mandatory, I quit. There’s not enuf places to park or rest. There’s not enuf money to make it worthwhile. Every little coffee shop and restaurant has NO PARKING signs, courtesy of the local municipality or ONTARIO and the cops are just waiting to hand out tickets even if you just need the rest room. Use the side of the road, possible ticket.
If I’m 1-2 hrs from home after 13 hrs and feel alert, I’m going home to rest, not spend it on the side of the road or a ramp. If I’m tired, I’ll find a place to sleep even if it’s sketchy. Ontario doesn’t give a dam about truckers. Only how much they can skim off us. Truckers are the most important labor force in the world and get treated like we’re a vile plague. ALL governments have refused to classify us as ‘skilled labor’ yet a barber, a hair stylist and a eyebrow/eyelash technician are classed as skilled labor. REALLY?? Their skill level isn’t on the same planet as ours. I shave my own head so does that make me a SKILLED BARBER/ TRUCKER???
Lo wages, less than ideal working conditions, VERY LONG hrs with NO OVERTIME, very few get benefits and no pension plan, yet we pay a fortune in taxes so civil servants can retire with a good pension and benefits.
In 1972 I grossed $21,300.00. You figure out what I should be earning today. And it sure won’t be $22.00/hr; $6.00/hr less than it was 7 yr ago.
If you bought it, a trucker brought it. There’s no such thing as ‘FREE DELIVERY’.
I have 56 plus yrs driving exp with over 5mil mi and still have to work.
Who else has to do that to keep their home???
If there’s a trucker shut down, I’ll help lead it!!!
Phone calls ONLY!! 705-333-3030
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Well said brother. It could be the catalyst we have being waiting for. Same story in western Canada.
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“When ELD’s become mandatory, I quit.”
Do you promise? We’re going to hold you to it.
The less drivers there are like you … cheating their books and working for free … the better it is for the rest of us. -
If you’re an hour from home at 13…..DRIVE HOME! No one is going to shoot you. I would take a violation over falsification any day of the week. My trucks only get a time stamp about once per day, but I’m not changing things when these things get plugged in. Drivers deserve to sleep in their own bed when it makes sense.
Geotab app for this mandate is not very user friendly. Many things not very well thought out. Hours are being charged against driving when they shouldn’t be.Need this fixed ASAP.
They should be enforced now I’m on elog and don’t mind it at all lot less accidents in usa because of it
Not requiring e log for the people who run in a 160 km radius is a mistake. I know far too many companies that run illegal hours that are home nightly. I understand not needing a grid graph but at least keep track of the hours. What about all the dump trucks in Toronto that run day and night?
I am so sick of hearing about level playing field it has never been level and never will be large companies through volume get every thing at a discount price compared too a person with 1 or 2 trucks they are are supposedly legal too do there own annual inspections lol and they keep on crying wolf how its not fair
There is NOT a reduction in accidents because of ELDs. Too many drivers are pushing through to maximize their hours. However, they can’t say that most of the single vehicle wrecks are because of a driver falling asleep – even though he had an ELD. Want to make it easy? Let the drivers do their jobs – they can drive for 13 hours within a 24 hours period. How they break those 13 hours up should be up to them.
The world is computerized, I believe as years comes by, Trucks will fly
ELD’s have done nothing but cause drivers to speed, drive recklessly, and be involved in more accidents that they are NOT AT FAULT FOR …
ELD’s do nothing but cause drivers feel like they are in a race against a clock …
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Well said thanks
Hi. I work for 2 small company’s. 1 in winter delivering propane. Other is late spring to fall digging holes for pools. We never go outside the 160km radius and are home every night. Is there an exemption for us concerning the new E-log
Hello. I am a farmer that has a semi truck and grain trailer. I only use the truck for about 10 loads a year and take crops from my farm to a mill 1 mile away, do i still need the new electronic log device ? If i do i guess i will start hiring a truck to haul my crops. Hope to hear from you.
Mrs. Brenda Corbett
I am the wife of a truck driver who has been driving for over forty years and even owned his own Truck, this is our thoughts on the E-logs.
A lot of truck drivers who have a learning disability and or both a learning disability plus in their sixties and plus the older guys most have no idea how to use a computer and have never even turned one are really frustrated already with learning how to do all the steps it takes to get into the program, besides most of these men only went as high as grade eight in school. So can’t they be exempt and still use the log books that the men have used for over forty years? So what happens when someone gets how many violations and can’t understand how or why the e-log gives them one, that’s a lot of money all at once to try and pay.
If most guys can’t get on to these e-logs they will get frustrated and have no choice but to refuse to do the e-logs or quit, which a lot of guys can’t even afford to do but the government is not making it easy on anyone, so they get a ticket then they have no money and guess what they are in jail and their wives that can’t work have to go on Welfare, and lose their homes or move in with family.
I think it is discrimination against the guys that have tried learning the program and just can’t get it, it is not their fault there are still a lot of people that need help with their written test when it comes due. So why does it have to change? Accidents happen no matter what system they use, blaming truck drivers is not fair. Besides I am not against immigration but nobody can say anything about foreigners without getting in trouble for it. They come to Canada they get money, a place to live, and a truck license with no experience and then they are driving recklessly, they do not share the road, there are more than two in a truck, they drive at a high speed, they cut others off, they tailgate, they don’t care about safety.
Most of our older guys have difficulty with a computer and even have problems with cell phones where the app is for these e-logs, my husband has a flip phone and still has difficulty with it.
So is there anyone that can help with this matter a little consideration for our older truckers would be appreciated.
Our province is crying for truck drivers why do our old guys and younger guys with learning difficulties have to suffer? Why do they have to be replaced with ones that have more education it’s not fair, so where is the help for these guys?
Thank You
Mark and Brenda Corbett
Very good idea and will save life. Great benefits to industry of transportation and truck operators.