With wildfire season in full swing, many carriers are supporting emergency efforts using special permits. This has raised the question: How do permits interact with ELD requirements?
The short answer: they don’t—at least not easily. The only way to make permits work within the ELD (Electronic Logging Device) environment is by using the Exempt Driver function.
A “Paper Tiger” Exemption
The term paper tiger refers to something that appears powerful or protective on paper but is ineffective in practice. This analogy applies well to how ELD exemptions work under current regulations.
Per regulation, any commercial vehicle over 4,500 kg must have an ELD installed. However, the driver may be exempt from using the ELD under certain conditions, such as when operating under a permit. Because these exemptions are built into the regulations, ELD systems had to incorporate a way for a driver to operate in “exempt” status.
But here's the catch: even in exempt mode, the ELD remains connected to the ECM (Engine Control Module) and continues recording data. If a vehicle is operated without someone logged in to the ELD and connected to the ECM, it generates unidentified driving events. These unidentified driving events can:
This is why using the Exempt Driver function correctly is crucial.
How the Exempt Driver Function Works
All ELD systems include a way to designate drivers as exempt. This allows drivers—such as those operating under an HOS permit—to avoid logging work time electronically during those periods.
Steps to Use the Exempt Function:
Enforcement Considerations
Roadside or Inspection Station:
Drivers stopped roadside or at an inspection station are required to produce RODS for the current day and the 14 previous days Federal HOS Regulation SOR/2005-313 98(1) & (2). While operating under a permit the driver should produce:
If asked, the driver should be able to explain that while the ELD is connected to the ECM, they are operating in Exempt Driver mode. The ELD will display Exempt Driver Status “E” per Technical Standard 4.8.1.3 for inspector confirmation.
Audits or Investigations:
If a driver using an exemption is selected for an HOS review, the carrier should:
Why This Exemption Is A Paper Tiger:
The exemption is only effective while it applies. Once a driver switches from exempt back to regular ELD operation, they are required to enter workshift data for the previous 14 days.
According to Federal HOS Regulation SOR/2005-313 Section 77 (5)(f):
Drivers must enter the number of on-duty and off-duty hours accumulated over the prior 14 days if they weren’t required to keep a log.
And per the Technical Standard 4.3.2.2.4 Indication of Situations Impacting duty-/driving-hour limitations(1), ELDs must allow drivers to indicate:
This is often where confusion or non-compliance happens—hence the “paper tiger” label.
Conclusion
The Exempt Driver function in ELD systems is a critical tool for carriers whose drivers alternate between regular and exempt HOS status. While it requires added effort from both drivers and administrators, it’s the only reliable way to avoid unidentified driving events, audit issues, and penalties.
Understanding and using this feature properly ensures your operation remains compliant—even when working under wildfire-related or other emergency permits.
In the absence of an interpretation guide from Alberta Transportation or Transport Canada, the following reflects my opinion based on the applicable technical standards and the federal Hours of Service Regulation.
In my BLOG, “Why is trucking so F%&$ed up in Alberta? I can tell you why”, I explored the concern that Transportation and Economic Corridors have a vested interest in the economy and transportation safety becomes a secondary priority. Stop expecting Alberta Transportation to help you! Compliance and Oversight makes their budget from writing tickets, no matter how government tries to sell it.
Enforcement and education are two key components in a transportation regulatory framework, and they serve very different purposes. Enforcement uses penalties, fines, or legal actions to ensure compliance with regulations. It is a reactive approach that focuses on punishing non-compliance and deterring future violations. Education provides information, guidance, and resources to help industry understand and comply with regulations. It is a proactive approach that aims to promote awareness, understanding, and voluntary compliance.
Enforcement mechanisms are important for holding unsafe carriers and drivers accountable and maintaining whatever integrity is left of the commercial transportation industry. Where it all falls apart is when the regulatory bodies make the rules and don’t inform industry what those rules mean to them. Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors has had the ELD regulations for three years and carriers facing departmental intervention are clueless to the risks.
In a roadside stop ELD penalties can add up fast. An example is; a driver’s ELD was in a malfunction state for the day the driver was stopped and inspected and the 14 previous days. If the driver did not follow the malfunction protocol the driver could be charged under 78(1) failure to ensure ELD operates in good working order and is calibrated and maintained. That penalty is recommended to be $1000.00 per offence for the driver. That would be $15,000.00. The carrier could be facing: 78(5) Failure to repair or replace ELD within required timeframe. $1000.00 per offence is $15,000.00 for the carrier. If the driver intentionally disconnecting the ELD to avoid accurate recording of the information that could be 86(3), Tamper with ELD $1000.00 per offence and the carrier could be facing 86(3) request require allow a person to tamper with ELD $2000.00 per offence. The carrier could be charged for every day because the carrier is supposed to be monitoring the driver, (87(1) and 78.3 (1)) using the carrier ELD dashboard and is aware of the malfunction. Imagine explaining to your boss how a driver earned the company a $32,000.00 penalty. Nobody gets a safety bonus this month!
This isn’t the good old days of trucking; drivers and carriers are monitored in real time and roadside officers are armed and have expanded powers including detention. Drivers need to take care during a roadside stop, speak respectfully and ask questions respectfully, even if the driver is correct and the officer wrong. In a roadside situation the person with the gun is always right and drivers need to remember that.
In summary, enforcement is about penalizing non-compliance, while education is about empowering compliance through awareness and understanding. Both enforcement and education are important tools in a regulatory framework, and a balanced approach that combines both can be effective in achieving regulatory goals. The problem is Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Alberta is not balanced; the focus is enforcement with no education for the carriers to be successful. Why would Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors slit the throat of this cash cow when carriers can be kept in the dark and the cash keeps flowing?
