CTA touts finding that ELD mandate would bring 2:1 ratio of benefit over cost

by Truck News

TORONTO, Ont. – Transport Canada released its cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for the proposed electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, with benefits expected to exceed costs by a ratio of 2:1.

The CBA indicates that “ELDs are an effective compliance tool to reduce the potential for driver fatigue and the likelihood of a driver reporting incorrect data on a paper log book…(and) are expected to improve road safety by increasing the accuracy of tracking driving hours (to ensure that allowable driving hours are not exceeded) and reducing potentially high-risk situations whereby drivers may operate in a fatigued state.”

Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) CEO David Bradley said the analysis confirms the benefits of an ELD mandate and dispels some of the myths about the devices.

“Now that the federal government has made its path clear, we call on all provinces to get onboard and extend the mandate to provincially-regulated vehicles as well,” Bradley said.

Some of the benefits identified in the CBA for an ELD mandate included time savings for drivers, carrier clerical personnel and roadside inspectors and auditors, alignment with the US mandate and meeting public expectations for safer transportation. Some costs highlighted were acquisition, installation, activation and monitoring, training and additional expenditures incurred by the industry, such as the hiring of additional personnel and purchase of additional vehicles.

Though the exact date for compliance for a Canadian ELD mandate has not been set, Transport Canada said it hopes to align with the US mandate set to occur December 2017, with a grandfathering provided for qualifying technology until December 2019.

The CTA said it supports a two-year phase in period, plus an additional two-year grandfathering for qualifying equipment.


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  • Making robots out of drivers just what the government wants more control or is it the big company’s But we live in a free country don’t we

  • This is being toted as a “safety mandate” which is misleading when mandating cost and privacy infringements are taken into account. The statistics shown in the complete study show this national mandate will mitigate 2 crashes annually. Two crashes could be prevented by creating more truck parking, rolling out salt trucks 5 minutes earlier, implementing entry level driver training programs like MELT in all provinces, and the list goes on. This mandate is ALL about big carriers “levelling the playing field”! If the field was level, so would the costs be, for all truck operators, big carriers have fuel discounts, tire discounts, shop rate discounts, truck pricing discounts, cut freight rates, exploit owner operators and drivers, not my definition of a level playing field. The rates are not going to go up with a market not accepting of rate hikes. ELDs are a fleet management tool, not applicable for a national mandate choking out small businesses with added burdensome costs.
    All the new regulatory costs incurred to reduce by 2 crashes, that could be mitigated by existing regulations. Common sense is not so common. Contact your MP and voice your opinion on this proposal.

  • It doesn’t say maintenance under costs considered. What about software updates or hours of service changes every time those get altered by the government. Reduce fatigue? Everyone is different. Almost every day, I hear someone complaining about their terribly long 8 Hour days and 40 hour weeks. And nothing like having even more closer surveillance to boost your spirits/morale. What would really save more money is to have these politicians monitored so closely.

  • Wait until the retroactive speeding tickets start rolling in because the hours don’t match the distance. At the end of each year the greedy provincial governments will be rubbing their filthy money grubbing hands together in anticipation of the fortune this new “revenue tool” will be bringing in. Don’t think it will happen? Just wait and see, we will be forced to drive at the exact speed limit at all times . Not 5 or 10 over ore even 1 mph over because at the end of the year it will be a massive bill to pay.

  • Well said Johanne.
    I have written letters to members of our government about this over the last several years and letters back from some of them assuring that they were aware of all these problems with it. That they would not jump into it. That they had received such concerns from many fellow citizens. It seems they will do what ever they want in the end anyways. After all, most of them believe we are here to serve them and not the other way around.

  • I have worked with ELD’s in a safety and compliance position and although I was very skeptical when we had to introduce them, the drivers liked them. With the ELD’S drivers were vocal about not wanting them, but once they got used to them they liked them very much. Some drivers gained a considerable amount of miles and once a driver was used to ELD’s they didn’t want to go back to paper if there truck was in for services.

  • These will set the industry on its ear. Safer no the truck doesn’t stop on the 401 cause 14 hrs are reached. In this industry $ drives everything and carriers will still under cut it do what it needs to keep clients and various destinations. When did the government get anything right . It’s going to be shooting fish in a barrel for the MTO or OPP nothing about safety

  • This Bradley guy just doesn’t quit does he. The little dictator. “Now that the federal government has made its path clear, we call on all provinces to get onboard and extend the mandate to provincially-regulated vehicles as well,” Bradley said.

    Our personal freedoms are worth absolutely nothing ladies and gentlemen….we gave those up years ago. These EOBR’s are going to be used to fine you for every single little thing they can persecute you for. Speeding, driving over their dictated hours, etc etc etc etc.

    Is this what our grandparents and our military men & women fought for? 24/7 monitoring of the population?

    The sooner this continent and society collapses under this socialist totalitarianism the better. Glad I left this deadend industry for greener pastures a few years back. Just a few more years left and retire in Mexico where some form of individualism still exists. Sadly with my luck, this little dictator Bradley will be down there screwing up their system next.

  • Let’s not kid our selves EOBR are not going to save drivers time. They like sped limiters don’t make the highways safer. All EOBR will do is take the paper logbook away from the driver. You still have to drive the truck, regardless of the speed you do. This is a smoke screen to the public. Will the MTO hire more enforcement NO. Once drivers and carriers get fined for over hrs and other related violations will drivers say no. I’m not working after 14 hrs. Please don’t make these EOBR look like we’re off to see Dorthy and the yellow brick road to finely meet the land of Oz