OTTAWA, — In a surprise move, the Canadian Trucking Alliance has dropped its proposal to extend the “working window” two more hours as part of the upcoming Canadian hours-of-service rule and has also weighed in on the side of electronic on-board recorders for trucks.

In a statement issued today, CTA’s CEO David Bradley states that CTA has no quarrel with the current HOS proposal of limiting driving time to 14 hours — which is already “a 24 per-cent increase in daily rest time as compared to the existing rules.” He said that the trucking group’s plan that would have extended a driver’s daily “working window” from 16 to 18 hours is not, “as has been incorrectly reported by some in the media,” for the purpose of seeking longer driving times.

Nonetheless, CTA is dropping its pursuit of the controversial proposal because of lack of sufficient widespread industry support and vocal opposition from unions and independent truckers.

This summer, the CTA was able to gain the initial support of the Council of Ministers, which directed the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) at a meeting in Quebec City to review the impacts of the 18-hour working window and to report back within 60 days. The CTA — which argued that the extension addressed truckers’ concerns over time available to cope with delays — was hopeful that the amendment would be included in the final regulation, expected early next year.

The announcement comes at the same time a report issued by a review panel from the scientific community recommended that the two-hour extension not be included in the final HOS rule. (See today’s previous TodaysTrucking.com story for more details). The report states that “proactive measures to address operational problems should be proposed which safeguard the health and safety of drivers and the public, rather than long split shifts (windows).”

The expert panel also concluded that the proposal is not “consistent with the 24-hour day, which was a core, scientifically supported recommendation” of Canadian and U.S. expert panels going back to 1998. And without the use of a sleeper berth, the additional two hours off duty is unlikely to be used for recuperative sleep.

The CTA press release didn’t mention if the expert panel’s report was a factor in the lobby group’s decision to abandon pursuit of the two- hour extension.

Meanwhile, the CTA has also officially endorsed the mandatory use of electronic on-board data recorders — sometimes called “black boxes” — for all trucks governed by the National Safety Code and where a commercial drivers licence is required. “It’s imperative from a safety point of view, which of course is paramount, but also in terms of providing responsible carriers with a level playing field with competitors who might otherwise choose to bend or break the rules to increase driving time,” Bradley said in a release.

CTA is urging the federal and provincial governments to enter into a joint government-industry memorandum of understanding on how best to make EOBRs a reality. “The days of the paper log book should be numbered,” Bradley said.

Today’s Trucking first reported this summer that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will seriously look at reintroducing the possibility of EOBRs as part of the mandate handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals to amend aspects of the HOS regime that came into effect on Jan. 4. The agency is requesting comments on the potential for EOBRs until tomorrow.

“There’s been years of research on EOBRs, however it’s only been in the last several years that there’s been advancements in the technology that we haven’t taken a look at yet and need to explore,” FMCSA spokesperson David Longo told Today’s Trucking recently. “There’s a void there that we need to fill, starting with public comment.”

Sources in both Canada and the U.S. have told Today’s Trucking that mandatory EOBRs will in all likelihood be introduced by regulators in the near future in an attempt to appease the courts and other opponents who insist the current rules aren’t safe enough for the public and drivers.

In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals threw out the hours-of-service rule and sent it back to FMCSA for review because the agency failed to comply with a statute requiring the agency to consider the impact of the rule on “the physical condition of the operators.” While it didn’t officially rule on EOBRs, it did show scorn over, among other issues, the FMCSA’s decision not to include the devices in its final HOS proposal the first time around.

The reasons the FMCSA gave in dismissing ‘black boxes’ — that neither the costs nor the benefits of EOBR systems are adequately known; that read-out procedures created by different EOBR vendors are incompatible; and that EOBRs are a direct assault on drivers’ privacy — were not sufficient, in the opinion of the court.