Earliest Canada will see ELD mandate is spring 2019: Millian

by Sonia Straface

MILTON, Ont. – With the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate in the U.S. just around the corner, Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) took the opportunity at a seminar today to refresh everyone on the U.S. ELD rules, and give an update on where Canada is with its own mandate.

“Compliance in the U.S. is December 18, 2017,” Millian reminded the room. “So anyone operating in and to the States as of the 18th has to have an ELD installed and active in their truck.”

The catch is, if you have an automatic on-board recording device (AOBRD) installed — which is not compliant — before the December 18 deadline, the deadline for your fleet to get ELDs is extended until December 2019.

This has created a loophole, Millian said, that some fleets have taking advantage of.

“Some people have a strategy that they are going to rush out and get AOBDRs that aren’t compliant so they can bypass the regulation for another two years,” he said. “That is a flawed strategy at best.”

Plus, he said, even though the deadline is two months away, if you don’t have ELDs in your trucks by now, and you have trucks going to the States, you’re already behind on what you should be doing.

Millian said the only exemptions are those who drive less than eight days out of a 30-day period; driveaway and towaway operations; trucks rented for 8 days or less; and trucks older than model year 2000.

Millian’s biggest frustration with the rule is the fact that there is no third-party certifying ELDs and manufacturers have been given the go-ahead to self-certify that these products meet FMCSA requirements.

“The FMCSA is not certifying these devices,” he said. “I cannot stress that enough…just because they are on the FMCSA website on the list, doesn’t mean they are complaint…It’s the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard but that’s what the government has decided…they take the manufacturers’ word for it.”

Some of the manufacturers even self-certified their devices before the FMCSA rules even came out, he said.

Unfortunately, Canada looks like it also may be heading into the same self-certifying directions.

“Transport Canada has said it will not be certifying ELDs,” Millian said. “However, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) is looking for a body for certify ELDs in Canada.”

Right now, Canada is still waiting for an ELD mandate to be officially set in motion. According to Millian, Transport Canada was scheduled to meet with the Treasury Board in October, but the appointment has since been pushed back to December.  Right now, the earliest time that the ELD mandate could be set in Canada is spring 2019, he said.

Because of all the delays, Millian said he thinks instead of a two-year phase in period for Canada, there will only be one.

“We will push back hard to get two years,” Millian said. “One year is pretty short to have all those devices installed.”

 


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  • ELD are no better than paper logs think about it driver falsely enters times on the paper log? Driver shuts off the ELD in order to keep going? What’s the difference no safer just dog and pony show to baffle the public. If there not being checked now how will this rectify its self? I know of people that can go back and change the ELD because of what was stated no checking on certification of data base

  • The vast majority of carriers that must have ELDs installed for the U.S. Mandate still havent done anything, everyone has waited until the last possible moment. A one year phase in period will be plenty of time.

  • Mike Millian is no dummy. I feel better with him being involved in this as opposed to the OTA.
    From what I know, his loyalties lie with the industry as a whole, not just the big guys in the old boys club.

  • First start paying drivers by hour and overtime just like every other worker that works and then put in the electronic log and watch your cost-of-living go up. I’m sitting in a dock as I’m writing this and not getting a dam cent has been 4 hours now and my log book is still ticking you get the picture

    • This is exactly what they did in Europe – when Tachographs were mandated decades ago, pay by the mile was banned – it’s all hourly pay, which is only fair – if you’re going to regular driver’s hours, then pay should be by the hour.

  • The biggest problem in this industry is drivers giving away ” free time” 2 to 4 hours of working for free. Carriers use this tactic to entice new customers. Moving containers is classic: wait at cn for an hour and a half for free before qualifying for $30/ hr( unless you are delivering an empty) if it’s an mt can, then you can wait 8 hours for free. The entire industry needs to change. We need to go to an hourly wage. For owner ops as well. Minimum $60/ he for in town. $125 / he highway as fuel consumption is a lot higher. As fuel goes up, so does the wage. There really isn’t any way to change this corrupt industry short of a general 10 day strike. Stock up your home with groceries then park all the trucks for 10 days. Grocery stores would be empty within 3 days. The world would be forced to take notice. I literally am earning less than 20 years ago though the costs to live have gone up. Oh, and good luck with self driving trucks. Can’t wait to see those puppies throw a couple sets of triples on at midnite on the coquihalla highway. That would be epic. Another thought on the general strike; as much as it would create a lot of attention, it is unlikely to ever happen . Too many drivers are terrified to lose their jobs. This, in an industry where every single company is hiring all the time. Why? Because they treat their drivers and o/ ops like crap. And they wonder why their turnover is so high? Have you ever wondered how to tell if a recruiting guy is lying to you? Answer: his lips are moving. Well enough of my rant today. I could go on for hours. Later guys and girls