Increasing safety on the road with driver hours of service regulations

A driver’s on-duty and off-duty hours are limited by the regulations that govern driver hours of service. This legislation is an important part of the regulations that apply to the transportation industry. Intended to reduce the number and severity of highway collisions, the driver hours of service standards are a very serious matter. With driver hours of service regulations on both the federal and provincial levels, all carriers are sure to be influenced by the regulations. All drivers and carriers must therefore have a complete understanding of the regulations that govern driver hours of service in order to avoid violations and expensive fines.

The driver hours of service regulations were developed to reduce driver fatigue and ensure that drivers remain alert while driving. As driver fatigue can impair a driver the same as drugs or alcohol by slowing reaction times, decreasing awareness and impairing judgement, it is not something to be taken lightly. It is therefore evident that the driver hours of service regulations can increase safety on our highways.

The highways can be a dangerous place. There is no need to add to the existing dangers on the highways with fatigued drivers. This is why the driver hours of service regulations are so important to the safety of everyone on the highways.

Truck Drivers' Hours of Service - Canada

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Truck drivers must comply with the Canadian Commercial Vehicles Hours of Service Regulations, which monitors the amount of time a driver accumulates on-duty and off-duty. Depending on if a driver is south or north of latitude 60 N (roughly, where the northern territories and western provinces meet, and passing through Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland) determines what the specific regulations are. The regulations are also different for single drivers and for driver teams. To keep things simple, let's focus on single drivers.

For drivers operating south of latitude 60 N, they cannot exceed 13 hours of driving time, or, 14 hours on-duty time in a day. After these hours have been reached, a rest period of 8 consecutive hours has to be taken. An off-duty period must be 10 hours (there has to be 2 hours off-duty time which does not cut into the consecutive 8 hours). After 16 hours of time has occurred between the end of the most recent 8 hours, and the beginning of the next, a driver cannot continue working.

It may seem straight forward, but, there's more to it than that. It gets a little complicated, when things like deferral of off-duty time, or ferry crossings are factored in. If a driver was working less than 26 hours in 2 days, or if the rest period is at least 20 hours in 2 days, than 2 hours of off-duty time could be deferred. If a driver is on a ferry crossing longer than 5 hours, they may not have to take the mandatory 8 hours of off-duty time, if the ferry crossing can be properly documented and used as a rest period.

The regulations are slightly different for drivers operating north of latitude 60 N. For these drivers, the legal daily driving time can't be more than 15 hours, and the daily on-duty time can't exceed 18 hours. The mandatory rest time is still 8 hours, but the time between rest periods is a little bigger –20 hours, as opposed to 16.

Drivers usually go by one of two time cycles. Cycle 1 is any 7-day period of 70 on-duty hours, while cycle 2 is any 14-day period of 120 on-duty hours. 70 in 1 and 120 in 2 represents the maximum of on-duty hours a driver is allowed to accumulate. At any time, a driver can start a new cycle, or alternate between 1 and 2, if the proper off-duty time has been taken. To start a new cycle 1, and to switch from 1 to 2, there has to be at least 36 consecutive rest hours. For a new cycle 2, or to switch from 2 to 1, 72 consecutive hours are required.

It may sound arbitrary, but, one of the best ways a driver can be certain that they're not a potential threat to themselves or anyone else is pretty simple; get enough sleep.

For additional information on Hours of Service and Hours of Service Training Contact Doug Fulgham visit CayCan.ca, a Transportation Compliance Solutions company.

Truck Drivers' Inspection

A very crucial component for truck drivers is vehicle inspection, be it annual inspections, or even day-to-day inspections, before setting out to drive. In Canada, the jurisdiction over trucking is shared by both the federal and provincial governments. Through the Motor Vehicle Transport Act  (MVTA), each province can apply their own rules and regulations to vehicles operating in federal jurisdiction. 

            

In Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec for example, a daily inspection – or Schedule 1 –  is required on any truck, or truck and trailer with either a registered gross weight or an actual weight over 4 500 kg, while in Saskatchewan, the weight limit is on any truck, or truck and trailer which exceeds 5 000 kg. Depending on if a driver is operating across Canada, or staying in one province is also another factor to take into consideration. In Alberta, the Schedule 1 is required for any truck or truck and trailer which weighs or exceeds 11 794 kg . The purpose of the Schedule 1 is to document any defects, major or minor, that a truck may have.

For additional information on Pre-Trip Inspection and online courses for Pre-Trip Inspection visit www.CayCan.ca - a Transportation Compliance Solutions company.

Combat Driver Fatigue and Comply with Safety Standards

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The transportation industry does not operate on a fixed schedule and drivers are often called on to work long hours during a shift, which can lead to driver fatigue. In the transportation industry driver fatigue is a very real and serious issue. Though driver fatigue can make you a road hazard even if you’re not a commercial driver, it can be even more hazardous when the fatigued driver is in control of over 4,500 kgs of steel and potentially carrying hazardous goods. This is why Transport Canada put the commercial vehicle hours of service regulations into place. 

 

The National Safety Code Standard #9, which is the standard that regulates hours of service, was developed by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). The CCMTA is the organization responsible for controlling the administration and regulation of motor vehicle transport and highway safety in Canada. The Hours of Service standard was developed to improve safety on Canada’s highways by limiting commercial driver’s hours to ensure they remain alert behind the wheel and to decrease the fatigue they may feel while on the job.

Transport Canada takes driver fatigue very seriously and hours of service infractions are dealt with severely. It is therefore important that carriers and their drivers work together to carefully monitor each driver’s hours and ensure compliance with the National Safety Code standards.