Whether you drive truck in Canada or the United States, there are laws that are put in place that truck drivers must follow. These rules are put in place to keep truck drivers safe as well as other drivers on the road. The laws are different in Canada and United States, they have recently been updated in the United States. Here we will break down what those laws, and changes, are in each country.
On June 1, 2020, in the United States, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a revision in the HOS (Hours of Service) rules.
With the old rule, drivers had to take a 30-minute break consecutively after 8 hours of being on duty, driving or not. The biggest modification that came to the rule in June 2020 is that drivers have to take a 30-minute break after driving for 8 hours. This change gives drivers more flexibility.
For example, if a driver has arrived at their destination to load/unload and have been driving for 8 hours and it takes them 30 minutes or more to organize the load then they can continue driving right after the load in ready. So, it is considered a break as long as you are not driving. Previously, you would have to take an off-duty break.
Canada has some of the strictest HOS rules in the trucking driving industry. They are closely monitored to help protect truck drivers and other drivers on the road. Canada has recently transitioned to Electric Log Devices (ELD) which comes with benefits such as automated reporting, saving time for drivers and clerical staff, saving money and helping to reduce the environmental impact of the trucking industry.
Drivers are not allowed to log more than 13 hours on duty in a 24-hour cycle. Drivers who log 13 hours of driving in a 24-hour cycle must take 8 consecutive hours off duty.
Canadian drivers can follow either of the two duty cycles indicated in the HOS rules. For Cycle 1, drivers cannot log more than 70 hours, driving or not driving, in 7 days. When a driver is following Cycle 2, they cannot drive after logging 120 hours in 14 days, driving or not.
In both cycles, drivers must have at least 24 hours off in the previous 14 days.
Because Canada is such a vast country and sometimes driving long distances is unavoidable, especially north of latitude 60°N so the regulations have been slightly modified for those cases. If a driver is north of latitude 60°N they can drive up to 15 hours and work up to 20 hours. Drivers should stop after being on duty for 18 hours. After this, drivers should have at least 8 consecutive hours off-duty.
The bottom line is, no matter where you are driving, it is important to know and understand what regulations you must follow. This will help to avoid fine for you and/or the company you work for as well as keeping you and other drivers safe on the road.
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