SAFETY DAWG Chris Harris
Eld Differences: Canada vs USA Let’s start with the similarities - there are a few. The actual laws governing the Hours of Service have not changed in the USA and Canada. You still need to accumulate 10 hours off-duty each day. Within both countries, you can only work 14-hours per day. In the USA you can drive 11 hours in your shift and of course, in Canada you can drive 13 hours in your day. As stated, the actual laws governing the Hours of Service have not changed but the thing that did change is that in many cases, the paper logs must now be kept in an electronic format or an Electronic Logging Devices (ELD’s). What are some of the differences between the two countries? There are two major areas that are significantly different. The first one is that in the USA, ELDs are self-certified. This means any manufacturer of an ELD promises the USA Government that their device does exactly what the FMCSA has mandated it to do. Well, let’s just say this didn’t work so well. It is estimated that somewhere between 25% and 50% of the devices on the ‘Approved’ list don’t do what the law says that they are to do. And please take note, the lawyers know which devices 14 • OVER THE ROAD
don’t do what they are supposed to do as well. So, this still creates an unlevel playing field. The legal drivers and companies are still competing against the cheaters. In Canada, we took a different approach. In Canada, every device must be submitted to a third party for certification. The fee for this certification is charged to the device manufacturer. And the fee is not cheap. This fee and third-party certification have done a few things: It has greatly reduced the amount of ELD’s available to Canadian trucking companies (and to the USA carriers that come into Canada) and it makes sure that the devices approved actually perform to Transport Canada regulations. The second area of difference is who is exempt from using an ELD? In the USA and Canada, short-haul drivers don’t have to use an ELD. In both countries, trucks older than 2000 are exempt. For the USA only, also not required to have an ELD are agricultural, farm and livestock vehicles. Another USA-only exemption is for Drivers with 8 days of RODS (Record of Duty Status) in a 30-day period.
AUGUST 2022
