Teamsters, truck groups want ELDs by December 2019

by Truck News

TORONTO, Ont. – Teamsters Canada, the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC), and Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) have joined together in a call for a quick mandate of electronic logging devices (ELDs).

In a rare show of unity, the three are calling for a final rule to be published by this June, and for each province to mandate ELDs by December 2019.

“The majority of carriers and drivers have and will always put safety first. However, ELDs will end the supply chain encouraging and turning a blind-eye to companies and drivers breaking hours of service rules to meet shipment needs by falsifying paper log books,” they say in a joint statement.

“By forcing all companies and drivers to obey federal hours of service rules we are making Canada’s roads safer. As a result of ELDs, drivers and carriers will be more compliant with HOS regulations, contributing to reduced collisions and other negative activity associated with distracted driving. We are encouraging all levels of government to expedite this regulation through their legislative process by making it a top priority.”


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  • it’s only certain companies wanting these ELD’s.
    Talk safety, it’s worse as if someone actually went out of their offices, they would see the truth. Works for drivers that actually can stand up for themselves, for most it doesn’t for various reasons.

    especially younger and newer drivers, they let the computer run them. I’ve asked a driver for literally 2 minutes of help (I can’t got to go make delivery etc, really.

    there are so many that won’t take a proper break, yes on eld it shows but it’s usually close to their pu or del. A proper brake is getting out for a walk, maybe a bit to eat, chat with others.

    The drivers don’t, allot use that break for a nap as they are always against the clock.

    Fact: let the law actually have to prove how ELD’s make it safer on roads. (especially after above examples but true.

    All looks good on paper and a computer print out.

    Companies know they have most drivers trapped and allot of things are done against will.

    The council wants only what certain companies want period.

    If I was ever in front of a microphone live that can’t be edited, a storm would come.

    Drivers have it bad for a very long time.

    • The ELD doesn’t make the roads any safer. The ELD makes drivers adhere to the hours of service regulations which make the roads safer.

    • The majority of HOS violations are form and manner violations, interpreted how the log is completed in by the driver. Very few violations are actually related to hours of service. Judging by the grammar errors in your posting you would benefit greatly by having an ELD.
      Embrace technology after all, if you don’t like change, you are going to hate extinction.

    • Hi Jeff-right,Professional drivers have been working for minimum wage for 40 years, and the government and private sector knew every driver was working long hours and safety was just conversation by said organizations. Deregulation and Owner Operators only made the situation worse,as Owner Operators have “NO CONTROLL” over dishonest brokers and Shippers in general. The government will not class Professional Drivers as a “TRADE” due to lobbying by the trucking industry to keep wages low. The other challenge is the truckers “never” work together to upgrade the industry standards.

  • Just do it. It should be law and mandatory by the end of 2018. What’s the issue ? Safety not a priority ? Rates so low that ELDs are too expensive ? Most fears about ELDs are B.S. , based on imagined fears , perpetuated by frustration caused by other issues. Protect the driver, protect the public, just get it done.

    • You ask if safety is not a priority. From what I have seen with ELD’s is not only do they not make the highways safer, they actually make them less safe. What I’ve seen is drivers running faster, even careless because they’re trying to beat the clock. I used them for 3 years. I wanted to maximize my day by driving all of my legal hours. Try pulling into a truckstop with 10 or 15 minutes left on the clock and not finding a place to park. If you leave to go to another truckstop you will be in violation. Powers that be say ‘plan your day batter’. Yeah, that means looking for a parking spot at least an hour before your clock runs out. How efficient is that?

  • Leave it to a fat cat union to jump into the mix with a collective group of fat cat figure heads to try and ram a boondoggle regulation in sooner. Right behind the provinvial and federal goverments, make sure to thank a union the next time you see another business close up shop and either cash in or move out. Union relevancy died 30 years ago. Now it just another branch of bureaucracy skimming of the workers pay cheques. Amazing how union heads are now weathier then the business owners they harass and bludgeon. Sickening

    • Union relevancy aside, you have a problem with the ELD? It is irrefutable proof that you did exactly what you told payroll that you did. You would rather be paid for less time that you actually worked?
      Show me one case, one single case, where the implementation of the ELD caused a legitimate transportation business to close up. You can’t because there isn’t one.
      There are of course lots that have closed up upon implementation of the ELD but that is simply because they don’t know how to make honest money. They would rather make it off cheat log books and the backs of their drivers.
      Drivers are better than that. Stand up and be counted as one of them instead of slinging unsubstantiated information, rumour, and innuendo.

      • Businesses close up and move on for many reasons. One being they are sick and tired of opressive government regulations. This cheating log book argument is laughable. Does your accountant adjust numbers? If so you better call cra and pay up. Im about getting paid for what i do…..not how many hours i milk out of it. It makes things run efficent. And if compressing my book some gets me home 10 hrs sooner becuase of not being stopped half our out make me an evil cheating driver? Call it what you want. Ill take it and do it to be home. Ever wonder why it seems like 75% of drivers are divorced? Hmmmmm. ELD will help that to. Not to mention the daily line haul 5hr shot guys drove like a-holes before, even worse now. And do some home work on unions……real homework. Not a google search. Unions and their puppets are selling out continent into insolvency.

  • J.B.-not true unions today are a shadow of yesterday, due to Owner Operators and shirt and ties that control the industry. Unions were not ideal,but drivers were accomodated with liveable wages and medical benefits. Owner Operators have no benefit and work for minimum wages! – I speak having 50 years in the industry!

    • Dont mean to sounds brash……but u shoulda looked for better jobs in last 50 yrs. O/o’s in the 80s made money. And damn good money. Smart ones are on easy street now……the dumb ones that had no business sense? Well they are in their inevitable position. As i said above…..do some real homwork on unions. They are killing out societey. And our children and grand children will pay the price

  • Electronic devices are crap. I drove for a company back in the 80s and they installed an electronic device that recorded my stops, my brake applications and the route I took. The machine once told me to take the 401 westbound from Kingston then take Highway 2 across Toronto to Hamilton.

  • Eld’s I’ll buy coffee for the first ELD carrier that sends CN or CP intermodal and invoice cause the driver had to wait 6 hrs at the rail head and they must pay it? Or large refreashment distribution centres or large general shippers are prepared to refund these carriers for their valuable time? We all know they will say NO so then where are the benifits of the ELD there will always be someone who will haul and take their chances no getting caught. Better still I’d love to hear what the shippers say when the carrier has the balls to send them that invoice and expects Ever to get another load again????