What do planes, trains and semi trucks all have in common? Regulations to ensure the operators of those vehicles do not work fatigued. The Federal Hours of Service HOS (SOR/2005-313) regulates the amount of time a commercial driver is allowed to drive, be on duty and mandatory off duty time limits. The intent of regulating a driver’s time is an attempt to mitigate the number and gravity of truck crashes by tackling driver fatigue.
All carriers holding a Federal Safety Fitness Certificate (SFC) must follow the Federal Hours of Service (HOS) SOR/2005-313, which includes the mandatory use of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) for tracking driver hours (HOS 77). It is important to recognize that some provinces in Canada like Alberta and Manitoba have both federal and provincial SFCs, leading to potential variations in HOS regulations between federal and provincial rules. Example, a carrier with a provincial SFC has no cycle limitations and can be on duty a total of 15 hours a day. A carrier with a federal SFC is limited to 70 hrs in 7 days or 120 hours in 14 days in a cycle and on duty a total of 14 hours in a day. Moreover, some provinces like Alberta did not adopt the ELD mandate for carriers with Provincial SFCs. Regardless of the specific type of Safety Fitness Certificate held by a carrier, all drivers operating regulated commercial motor vehicles are obligated to comply with the relevant Hours of Service duty status limits. This underscores the importance of understanding and adhering to the appropriate regulations to ensure compliance.
The Federal Hours of Service (SOR/2005-313) section 4 outlines the responsibilities of motor carriers, drivers, shippers, consignees, safety officers, dispatchers, and others to help prevent driver fatigue.
They are responsible to ensure a drivers must not drive if:
ELDs record time by the second and track how much time is remaining in a drivers shift. The ELD alerts the driver 30 minutes before a duty status limit is reached, Technical Standard 4.6.4. Drivers and persons listed in Section 4 of the HOS must be trained in the rules of HOS. However, it is no longer imperative to understand the minutia of team split sleeper or deferral calculations because the ELD does and the ELD monitors and alerts the driver to available time.
On duty and driving limits: driving and on duty time is automatically recorded by the ELD. Team drivers must authenticate (log in) to the ELD, (Technical Standard 4.1.4 b). The ELD monitors and calculates time concurrently for team driving conditions such as; team split sleeper berth.
Operating zone is set by the motor carrier during the drivers account creation (Technical Standard 7.46). The ELD will track and alert the driver 30 minutes before a duty status is reached. North of 60 covers three territories: Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. There are no daily limits only work shift limits.
A driver is allowed to defer 2 hours of off duty time to the following day. This allows drivers to obtain two additional driving and on-duty hours in a 24-hour period (Day 1). Then, they can take the required two hours off immediately the next day (Day 2).
The ELD will track and alert the driver to the time requirements ensuring compliance to the regulation.
Certified ELDs are now required for commercial carriers as part of the law. Carriers must understand how ELDs work and how to review the data they generate. Previously, drivers used paper logbooks to track their time, with the burden of accurate recording falling on the driver. Carriers were responsible for monitoring these logs, but they provided historical information. With ELDs offering real-time certified data, it is now the motor carrier's duty to actively monitor drivers through the ELD's features and confirm the accuracy of their records of duty status (RODS). In case of a serious collision, the carrier can no longer shift blame to the driver, claiming ignorance of any violations of driving hours, as they are now expected to constantly monitor and verify compliance using the ELD data.
One of the most convenient features of smartphones is the ability of the phone to adjust time zone to match your physical location. This feature is known as "Automatic Time Zone Detection" or "Automatic Time Zone Adjustment." This functionality ensures that the device's clock remains accurate and synced with the local time wherever you may be traveling. Most of us never think twice about this technology it just happens seamlessly. When you get off the plane and connect to a network, it is magically the correct time.
The Technical Standard allows for a ELD device to be hardwired or a handheld device (smartphone) connected via Bluetooth, Technical Standard 1.3. RODS data is captured in the time zone of the driver’s home terminal, Technical Standard 7.40 & 7.41. If the ELD UTC time does not match the time zone the device is in, by more than 10 minutes, the ELD will record a Timing Compliance Malfunction, Technical Standard 4.6.1.3. If a driver has the ELD on a smartphone and does not disable the Automatic Time Zone Detection or Automatic Time Zone Adjustment function of the phone, the ELD will record the Timing Compliance Malfunction when the time zone changes.
1. Download the ELD on a tablet and disable the Automatic Time Zone Detection or Automatic Time Zone Adjustment function.
2. Disable the Automatic Time Zone Detection or Automatic Time Zone Adjustment function on the driver’s smartphone but, be prepared the driver will be late or early for everything.
Having a ELD on a driver’s smartphone is convenient but, comes with other implications. Every trucking company needs to decide what ELD application works best for them. Speak with your ELD provider about your business to determine what solution will work for you.
Drivers of commercial motor vehicles are subject to roadside inspections and NSC Standard 15 audit inspections. If a driver or vehicle is placed out of service, the driver and/or carrier would be subject to a written warning, tickets and/or points on the Carrier Profile. If the non-compliance is serious the driver and/or vehicle would be placed Out Of Service (OOS) until corrected. These are considered HOS violations. Not all provinces and territories follow the Federal Contraventions Regulations (Schedule XVIII): SOR/2023-137, which means that penalties for violations can vary depending on where the violation occurs. The penalties outlined in the contravention regulations are different for the driver and carrier involved in the violation. Specifically, carrier penalties are set at double the amount of driver penalties in order to ensure that responsibility is appropriately distributed between the driver and carrier.
77 (1) A motor carrier shall ensure that each commercial vehicle that it operates is equipped with an ELD that meets the requirements of the Technical Standard and shall ensure that it is mounted in a fixed position during the operation of the commercial vehicle and is visible to the driver when the driver is in the normal driving position. Contraventions Regulations (Schedule XVIII): SOR/2023-137 suggested penalty is $1000.00.
How to avoid: Install a $20.00 magnetic cell phone holder if the ELD is on the driver’s phone and not a wired connection.
77 (7) The motor carrier shall ensure that each commercial vehicle that it operates carries an ELD information packet. Contraventions Regulations (Schedule XVIII): SOR/2023-137 suggested penalty is $600.00.
How to avoid: Ensure each CMV contains an information packet that contains; (a) a user’s manual; (b) an instruction sheet for the driver describing the data transfer mechanisms supported by the ELD and the steps required to generate and transfer the data with respect to the driver’s hours of service to an inspector; (c) an instruction sheet for the driver describing the measures to take in the event that the ELD malfunctions; and (d) a sufficient number of records of duty status to allow the driver to record the information required under section 82 for at least 15 days.
77 (8) The motor carrier shall ensure that the driver records the information related to their record of duty status and the driver is required to record that information in a complete and accurate manner.
78.1 A motor carrier shall create and maintain a system of accounts for ELDs that is in compliance with the Technical Standard and that (a) allows each driver to record their record of duty status in a distinct and personal account; and (b) provides for a distinct account for the driving time of an unidentified driver.
Technical Standard 4.1.5 Non-Authenticated Driving of a CMV
87 (1) A motor carrier shall monitor the compliance of each driver with these Regulations.
Contraventions Regulations (Schedule XVIII): SOR/2023-137 suggested penalty 77(8) is $500.00 for the driver $1000.00 for the carrier. 78.1 suggested penalty is $1000.00 for the carrier. 87(1) suggested penalty is $2000.00 for the carrier.
How to avoid: Carrier to assign all unidentified time.
Technical Standard 4.6.1 Compliance Self-Monitoring, Malfunctions and Data Diagnostic Events Table 4
86 (3) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow any person to, and no person shall, disable, deactivate, disengage, jam or otherwise block or degrade a signal transmission or reception, or re-engineer, reprogram or otherwise tamper with an ELD so that the device does not accurately record and retain the data that is required to be recorded and retained.
Contraventions Regulations (Schedule XVIII): SOR/2023-137 suggested penalty 86 (3) is $2000.00 for the carrier.
Data diagnostic events: Table 4 Technical Standard
(Code 1) Power Data Diagnostic Event: Problem ELD is not fully powered/functional within one minute of the vehicle’s engine receiving power. How to avoid: Plug the ELD in.
(Code 2) Engine Synchronization Data Diagnostic Event: Problem the ELD loses ECM connectivity to any of the required data sources and can no longer acquire updated values for the required ELD parameters within five seconds of the need. Connectivity must be maintained while the vehicle is powered on. How to avoid/ fix the connectivity where the ELD loses ECM connectivity to the required data sources, you can try the following steps:
(Code 3) Missing Required Data Elements Data Diagnostic Event: Problem there are missing data elements (like GPS location) in the ELD event record. How to avoid: Instruct drivers to input missing information when ELD prompted.
(Code 4) Data Transfer Data Diagnostic Event: Problem the internal monitoring of the data transfer test fails and is unable to send the output file data. How to correct: consult with technical support
(Code 5) Unidentified Driving Records Data Diagnostic Event: Problem there is over 30 minutes of unidentified driving time for the vehicle over the last 24 hours. Unidentified Driving Records Data Diagnostic Events will clear when the cumulative time for unidentified driving is less than 15 minutes. How to correct: Assign all unidentified driving time.
Technical Standard 4.6.1 Compliance Self-Monitoring, Malfunctions and Data Diagnostic Events Table 4
(Code P) Power Compliance Malfunction
(Code E) Engine Synchronization Malfunction
(Code L) Positioning Compliance Malfunction
(Code T) Timing Compliance Malfunction – Drivers using a smartphone as a device must disable the Automatic Time Zone Detection or Automatic Time Zone Adjustment.
(Code R) Data Recording Compliance Malfunction
(Code S) Data Transfer Compliance Malfunction
How to avoid: Malfunctions occur when Data Diagnostic Events are not corrected, fix the data, avoid the Malfunction. When a Malfunction is detected, the driver is to stop, switch to paper logs and follow the Malfunction criteria 78 (2)(3)(4).
That’s my top 5 and the easiest to avoid and correct. In my experience 75% of issues are driver training and safety officers not understanding how ELDs work. It’s not the device, the ELD records data, the ELD does not interpret what that data means. With ELDs providing a digital record of a driver’s activity it is important for carriers to recognize the level of liability that entails if your driver is involved in a serious incident.
A ELD (electronic logging device) is a device that automatically records information using the CMV (commercial motor vehicle) ECM (Electronic Control Module), truck sensors and GPS trilateration to automatically record driving time. Fun fact, February is Black History Month and we need to acknowledge GPS was invented by mathematician Gladys West who was the second black woman to be hired to work as a programmer for the US Navy. As a CMV is moving the ELD is receiving information from the ECM and comparing that information to GPS position to monitor compliance to the Federal Hours of Service HOS (SOR/2005-313) and the Technical Standard.
A driver’s day in ELD sequence.
The ELD records all the required information from the Federal Hours of Service HOS (SOR/2005-313) and additional device compliance health monitoring in the Technical Standard. The data collected is related to: carrier identification, driver identification, vehicle identification, driver location information at prescribed intervals and each change of duty status, a running and cumulative odometer and engine hours total, duty status totals and ELD identification information.
The drivers’ daily, workshift, cycle and off-duty requirements are continuously monitored, and a driver is alerted within 30 minutes of reaching a duty status limit.
The ELD continuously monitors the device functionality and alerts the driver if any data is missing or there is a connectivity issue. Drivers are prompted to provide missing information if data is not automatically recorded. Drivers are alerted to uncertified RODS and missing data elements. Unidentified driving records must be accepted or rejected by the driver and no other information can be entered until unidentified driving time is resolved, Technical Standard 4.1.5 3).
The data from the ELD is shared between the drivers in-truck device and a dashboard or portal for the motor carrier to monitor the entire fleet. All the data is stored on the cloud for 6 months and can be retrieved by the carrier for inspection. The motor carrier is expected to monitor the drivers continuously using the information generated from the ELD. A driver should never be in a out of service condition for HOS because as soon as the driver is alerted to a problem the driver is supposed to immediately stop and alert the carrier. The driver and carrier are supposed to work together to resolve the issue and if the issue cannot be resolved follow the OOS criteria. The data doesn’t lie and the data doesn’t go away.
