ELD rules to see mixed enforcement on Jan. 1
Federally regulated carriers – as well as carriers that work exclusively within the borders of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, and Yukon – will have to use electronic logging devices (ELDs) as of Jan. 1. But plans in other jurisdictions vary.
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada identified the updated provincial rules following a fall meeting of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) compliance and regulatory affairs committee.
“B.C. and Quebec will not be able to enforce the federal regulation by January 1, as updates are still being worked on,” PMTC president Mike Millian said in a bulletin to members. “While they expect enforcement to begin sometime in 2023, no confirmed timetable was available.”
“The Northwest Territories won’t be ready on January 1 but expect to begin enforcement sometime before the end of January. All other jurisdictions indicated they either are or will be ready to begin enforcement of the federal regulation by January 1.”
B.C. and Quebec plan to enforce the rules for provincial carriers but have not confirmed timelines, while Nova Scotia will require carriers that operate solely in that province to have ELDs on Jan 1., 2024. Carriers that run exclusively in the Northwest Territories will face a mandate before the end of January.
Alberta and Saskatchewan have no current plans to require ELDs provincially. Provincial carriers that operate in P.E.I. only operate within a 160-km radius, which does not require a logbook or an ELD.
“This new regulation will help reduce driver fatigue and make it easier for truck drivers to log their hours,” Ontario Transport Minister Caroline Mulroney said during the Ontario Trucking Association’s annual conference, citing “overwhelming” support from that organization.
Approved ELDs
Transport Canada has approved 55 ELDs, which have been certified as meeting the underlying technical standards.
“To confirm if a device you are currently using is compliant, you must verify the device name, model # as well as the software version,” Millian said in the PMTC bulletin.
“The last part is very important. Very few devices currently in use have updated their software and therefore are not currently compliant. Ensure to verify this, and if not updated, reach out to your supplier to find out when it will be updated and how this may change the operation of the system.”
Exempted trucks include those produced before Model Year 2000, or trucks that are rented for no more than 30 days.
“An exemption is also being worked on for drive-away-away-operators and the Motion Picture Industry and is expected to be in place by January 1,” Millian added.
A “ferry exemption” within the federal rules will allow carriers to apply related time to eight-hour off-duty requirements — including time waiting to board a ferry, time on the ferry, and time driving to a location within 25 km of disembarking.
While ELDs will still show violations in such circumstances, drivers will avoid violations if they carry proof that they comply with the ferry rules, with things like receipts for boarding and cabin berths.
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ELDs have been in place State side for several years now. Since then the number of Truck involved accidents as well as truck driver deaths has increased over pre-ELD years. It is safe to say that the ELD mandate stateside did not make the highways safer, just the opposite. Now Transport Canada is Mandating Jan 01/23 without reviewing the Stateside Accident and Death statistics? Seems to me that Ottawa did not do their homework. With some provinces with no immediate plans to impliment the mandate, while others saying maybe sometime in January, it seems un-realistic for January 01st 2023. Drive-away/tow-away operators are exempt from the ELD mandate stateside, but Transport Canada in it’s wisdom did not address this segment of the industry. I feel January 01st will prove to be an absolute mess for both enforcement as well as for drivers.
I disagree with the fines, and until ELD’s are more dependable, there should be no legal requirement to have one.
I also need to point out the FACT, that a 75 km. Personal conveyance limit is not nearly enough. I cannot even drive my truck to and from a garage in the city to have it worked on with these limited km’s. Last week I could not even drive home from the nearest place I had to stop on my route because it was just over 90 km away.
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Driving your truck to a garage to have it worked on would not even qualify for Personal Use as it would be considered “repositioning the vehicle for business reasons”. You need to review the regulations surrounding the Personal Use rules.
Since ELD’S have been implemented, drivers are now driving faster and more fatigued than before. The reason for this is that they now have to fit their day into a tightly restricted and regulated day. A driver that used to be able to take a 2 hour nap can no longer afford to take that much time off in there limited day and must drive on without that much needed rest. ELDS have forced drivers to be less safe.
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Before the eld mandate they should clean highway in winter . It can be seen in BC they not clean highways and their are not enough truck parking so drivers have to park their trucks on highways and they run faster on eld because they always close highways for 2 to 3 hours and they spoiled truckers drive time and truckers have to sleep on road and then they got ticketed because according to law the can’t sleep on road thatway eld will be kill more people than paper book because eld have tight deadlines. Moreover if they close road and bad weather drivers should be able to use ‘adverse drive conditions ‘so that drivers can find safe place and they done their trip without any hurry.
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I’m not a huge fan of ELD’s (mostly due to the nonstop glitches, software, hardware failure, etc) but the HOS regulations regarding daily Drive and on-Duty Time have not changed regardless of using a Paper Log or ELD…so the time available to a driver is the same. Not sure what you mean by “restricted and regulated day”…as the day has been the same since 2007 when the latest HOS regulations came into effect…13 hours drive time, 14 hours on-duty, 10 hours off-duty, etc. And if a driver has a SB, he can definitely split his off-duty time if he’s tired and take a 2 hour nap in the SB and extend his 16 hour shift window and then take the remaining second half of his 10 hour SB split later that day following the Single Driver SB Split rules.
As a retired AZ driver with 38 safe and accident free years . I had no problems with the paper logs …if you needed 15 minutes or so to find a spot to park for the night , no big deal ,now if you go over on your ELD you get fined . If you don’t cross your Ts and dot your I,s you’ll get fined . Look out driver it’s going to get messy next year .
Honestly all truck drivers need to refuse to use ELD. Stop when tired drive when your not. It’s simple if you decide to further regulate this market with the government that can’t figure out ANYTHING correct. It’s going to be worse for the people moving goods across the country. Causing supply issues
This is why we refuse to go into Canada anymore. We’ve seen how they treat truckers. I wouldn’t care if the whole country was starving to death, we wouldn’t haul them a can of beans.
I’d have to ask Canada to pause what there doing, because I think the USA will be asking for help in supplies. Don’t know if your having diesel issues like in America and Electric Class 8 trucks don’t have the necessary torque and pull power for the hills just yet. Eld’s will hurt your economy….fiercely.
Electronic Log’s number 1 do not make you or the motoring public any safer Why is it always bout the fines or penalties Why not educate government officials as well as drivers as to what Electronic logging entails There is a few exceptions that can be used but lack if safe aquadate parking is key in majority of Canada You park early up early is not always the answer How much is it goin to cost in unwarranted fines it come to the point it’s not worth the investment to be involved or drive a truck anymore It’s time for common sense to fall in place
ELD’s do not improve safety. They decrease it, because there is no leeway and everyone is rushing, pushing to get enough production to be profitable within the ridged. constrants of the ELD. Especially 4 the LTL trucker! The problem at the shipper/receiver in regards to holding time and lack of parking should be considered considered,especially when trying to fit a 10 great break into the situation. Need some leeway, as to YM’s and driving a short distance to a safe parking area. Major problem is the rule makers don’t know squat about how the rubber meets the road. Statistics are only about 50% of the knowledge needed to understand the issue at hand!
We are not a transportation company, but we do deliver our product through ON. We occasionally rent trucks (26ft),not more that 30 days, so I understand we do not need an ELD for that, however, we also own a pick up truck and tow an enclosed 16″ trailer to deliver goods – do we need an ELD for the Pickup and Trailer? This is becoming very confusing.
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If it’s a registered commercial vehicle with a gross weight or registered weight over 4500 Kg’s it would need an ELD.
You would think after all the B.S that the government has pucked over this E L D mandate that everybody would be on board but again still not everybody is ready and some provinces want to go ahead half-cocked and insights confusion for everyone. One would think that all the taxpayer money that has been spent they could all come together and all start with the same rules and time